Methods and apparatus for a tablet computer system incorporating a battery charging station

ABSTRACT

A tablet computer includes a housing, a display, a processing system, a camera system comprising a camera sensor, and a battery system, the battery system positioned within the housing. The battery system is configured to charge an external device. A charging cable retainer is configured to retain one or more cables against or within the housing. One or more integral cables are provide. The one or more integral cables include a cable comprising a first end fixedly coupled to the battery system, a first connector of a first type configured to mate with a first type of external device connector, a second connector of a second type configured to mate with a second type of external device connector, and a lens configured to form images on the camera sensor. The charging cable retainer includes a cable channel or magnet.

BACKGROUND Field

The field of the invention relates to portable computer devices havingdisplays.

Description of the Related Art

Portable devices, such as smart phones, have become an ever moreintegral part of peoples' daily lives. Such devices are used for phonecalls, messaging, accessing calendar information, entertainment, and thelike. However, as such portable devices are increasingly used throughoutthe day, their batteries are often depleted at an inopportune time.Conventional battery technology has failed to provide an adequatesolution for ensuring users are able to use their devices throughout theday.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a charging station, such as, by wayof example a tablet-charging station combination, a hinged-computercharging station, a pyramid-shaped charging station (which may includesome or all of the features of the tablet-charging station, but in apyramid shape with a vertical or inclined display on a face of thepyramid), or other-shaped computer-charging station combination. Thecharging station is optionally configured to charge other electronicproducts. Aspects of the disclosure related to distributed, networkedapplications hosted by such charging stations. A tablet computerincludes a housing optionally having a plurality channels formedthereon, a display, a processer, a camera, a first battery system, and asecond battery system. The first battery system is configured to powerthe display, the processor, and the camera. The second battery system,isolated from the first battery system, is configured to charge anexternal device. A first cable may optionally removably reside in afirst channel, where a first end is coupled to the second batterysystem, and a second end has a connector of a first type configured tomate with a first type of external device connector. A second cable mayoptionally removably reside in a second channel, where a first end iscoupled to the second battery system, and a second end has a connectorof a second type configured to mate with a second type of externaldevice connector.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a charging station, such as, by wayof example a tablet-charging station combination, a hinged-computercharging station, a pyramid-shaped charging station (which may includesome or all of the features of the tablet-charging station, but in apyramid shape with a vertical or inclined display on a face of thepyramid), or other-shaped computer-charging station combination. Thecharging station is optionally configured to charge other electronicproducts. Aspects of the disclosure related to distributed, networkedapplications hosted by such charging stations. A tablet computerincludes a housing optionally having a plurality channels formedthereon, a display, a processer, a camera, and at least a first batterysystem. The first battery system is configured to power the display, theprocessor, the camera, as well as charge an external device. One or morecharging interfaces may be provided to charge other device. For example,a first cable may have a first end coupled to the first battery system,and a second end has a connector of a first type configured to mate witha first type of external device connector.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a tablet computer comprising ahousing, a display, a processing system, a camera system comprising acamera sensor, and a battery system, the battery system positionedwithin the housing and configured to charge an external device. Acharging cable retainer is configured to retain one or more cablesagainst or within the housing. One or more integral cables are provide.The one or more integral cables include a first end fixedly coupled tothe battery system, a first connector of a first type configured to matewith a first type of external device connector, a second connector of asecond type configured to mate with a second type of external deviceconnector, and a lens configured to form images on the camera sensor.The charging cable retainer comprises a cable channel and/or a magnet.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a tablet computer,comprising: a housing, the housing comprising a plurality of sideshaving a plurality channels formed thereon; a display; a processingsystem; a camera system comprising a camera sensor; a battery system,positioned within the housing, configured to power the display, theprocessing system, the camera system, and configured to charge anexternal device; a first cable comprising: a first end fixedly coupledto the battery system; a second end with a first connector of a firsttype configured to mate with a first type of external device connector;a second cable comprising: a first end fixedly coupled to the batterysystem; a second end with a second connector of a second type configuredto mate with a second type of external device connector; wherein thefirst cable removably resides in a first of the plurality of channels sothat the first connector of the first type can be removed from the firstchannel and mated with the first type of external device connector, andwherein the first end of the first cable remains coupled to the batterysystem; wherein the second cable removably resides in a second of theplurality of channels so that the first connector of the second type canbe removed from the second channel and mated with the second type ofexternal device connector, and wherein the first end of the second cableremains coupled to the battery system; and a wide angle lens providing afield of view within a range 180-300 degrees, the wide angle lensconfigured to form images on the camera sensor.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to tablet computer,comprising: a housing; a display; a processing system; a camera systemcomprising a camera sensor; a battery system, the battery systempositioned within the housing, configured to power the display, theprocessing system, the camera system, and configured to charge anexternal device; a cable retainer configured to retain one or morecables against or within the housing; one or more integral cablescomprising: a first end fixedly coupled to the battery system; a firstconnector of a first type configured to mate with a first type ofexternal device connector; a second connector of a second typeconfigured to mate with a second type of external device connector; anda lens configured to form images on the camera sensor.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a distributed computersystem, comprising: a first plurality of geographically distributedtablet computers, wherein a given tablet computer comprises: a housing;a display; a processing system; a camera system comprising a camerasensor; a battery system, positioned within the housing, configured topower the display, the processing system, the camera system, andconfigured to charge an external device; a first cable comprising: afirst end coupled to the battery system; a second end with a firstconnector of a first type configured to mate with a first type ofexternal device connector; a second cable comprising: a first endcoupled to the battery system; a second end with a second connector of asecond type configured to mate with a second type of external deviceconnector; a computer system configured to communicate with theplurality of tablet computers, the system comprising: one or moreprocessing devices; a network interface; computer-readable memory thatstores instructions that when executed by the one or more processingdevices cause the computer system to perform operations comprising: useinformation received using the network interface from a given tabletcomputer in the first plurality of tablet computers to determine alocation of the given tablet computer; receive, using the networkinterface, from the given tablet computer images captured using thegiven tablet computer camera system; determine if a user face is withinone or more of the images received from the given tablet; in response todetermining a user face is within the one or more images, generate amodel of the user face; use the model of the user face to determinewhether a record, corresponding to historical user interactions withcontent, exists; in response to determining that a record, correspondingto historical user interactions with content, exists, use the record andthe determined location of the given tablet computer to identify contentthat is to be displayed to the user; cause the identified content to bedisplayed on the given tablet computer.

Optionally, the battery system comprises: a first battery subsystemconfigured to power the display, the processing system, and the camerasystem; and a second battery subsystem isolated from the first batterysubsystem, the second battery subsystem configured to charge theexternal device. Optionally, the given tablet computer is configured to:detect when a charge level of the battery system falls to a first level;and in response to detecting the charge level of the battery system hasfallen to the first level: disable charging of the external device,while stilling enabling transmission of tablet computer location datafrom the given tablet computer to the computer system configured tocommunicate with the plurality of tablet computers. Optionally, theoperations further comprising: use one or more of the user images todetermine a response of the user to the identified content; and use theresponse determined from the one or more user images to select anotheritem of content for display to the user. Optionally, the record,corresponding to historical user interactions with content, comprisesuser preferences inferred from images of the user captured while contentwas displayed to the user. Optionally, the distributed computer systemfurther comprises a deep neural network utilized in generating the modelof the user face. Optionally, the operations further comprising: use theimages to determine a gaze direction of the user; associate the gazedirection with content displayed on the given tablet computer; and usethe association of the gaze direction with content displayed on thegiven tablet computer in selecting at least one item of content to bedisplayed to the user. Optionally, a first of the plurality of tabletcomputers has a housing comprising a first channel configured to receivethe first cable and a second channel configured to receive the secondcable. Optionally, a first of the plurality of tablet computerscomprises a wide angle lens providing a field of view within a range180-300 degrees, the wide angle lens configured to form images on thecamera sensor. Optionally, the operations further comprising: generate auser interface that enables content to be scheduled to be displayed bytablet computers at one or more specified locations; receive the contentschedule via the user interface; and enable content to be displayed bythe tablet computers at the one or more specified locations. Optionally,the operations further comprising: generate a user interface thatenables content to be scheduled to be displayed by tablet computers atone or more specified locations; receive the content schedule via theuser interface; and automatically modify the schedule with respect togiven tablet computer in response to an analysis of the recordcorresponding to historical user interactions with content. Optionally,the operations further comprising: receive a low charge message from afirst of the tablet computers; determine a notification destinationassociated with the first tablet computer based on an identifierreceived from the first tablet computer or a location associated withthe first tablet computer; and transmit a low charge notification to thedetermined notification destination.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a distributed computersystem, comprising: a first plurality of geographically distributedtablet computers, wherein a given tablet computer comprises: a housing;a display; a processing system; a camera system comprising a camerasensor; a battery system, positioned within the housing, configured topower the display, the processing system, the camera system, andconfigured to charge an external device; a first cable comprising: afirst end coupled to the battery system; a second end with a firstconnector of a first type configured to mate with a first type ofexternal device connector; a computer system configured to communicatewith the plurality of tablet computers, the system comprising: one ormore processing devices; a network interface; computer-readable memorythat stores instructions that when executed by the one or moreprocessing devices cause the computer system to perform operationscomprising: receive, using the network interface, from a given tabletcomputer images captured using the given tablet computer camera system;determine if a user face is within one or more of the images receivedfrom the given tablet; in response to determining a user face is withinthe one or more images, generate a model of the user face; use the modelof the user face to determine whether a record, corresponding tohistorical user interactions with content, exists; in response todetermining that a record, corresponding to historical user interactionswith content, exists, use the record in identifying content that is tobe displayed to the user; cause the identified content to be displayedon the given tablet computer.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to computer systemconfigured to manage remote tablet computers, comprising: one or moreprocessing devices; a network interface; computer-readable memory thatstores instructions that when executed by the one or more processingdevices cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:generate a user interface that enables content to be scheduled to bedisplayed by tablet computers at one or more specified locations;receive the content schedule via the user interface, the contentschedule including a content schedule for at least a first tabletcomputer; receive, using a network interface, from a given tabletcomputer images captured using the given tablet computer camera system;determine if a user face is within one or more of the images receivedfrom the given tablet; in response to determining a user face is withinthe one or more images, generate a model of the user face; use the modelof the user face to determine whether a record, corresponding tohistorical user interactions with content, exists; in response todetermining that a record, corresponding to historical user interactionswith content, exists, determine, using the record, whether the contentschedule for the first tablet computer is to be modified; in response todetermining that the content schedule for the first tablet computer isto be modified, automatically modifying the content schedule for thefirst tablet computer; causing content to be displayed on the firsttablet computer in accordance with the first tablet computer.

Optionally, the operations further comprising: use one or more of theuser images to determine a response of the user to an item of content;and use the response determined from the one or more user images inselecting another item of content for display to the user. Optionally,the record, corresponding to historical user interactions with content,comprises user preferences inferred from images of the user capturedwhile content was displayed to the user. Optionally, the computersystem, further comprising a deep neural network utilized in generatingthe model of the user face. Optionally, the operations furthercomprising: use the images to determine a gaze direction of the user;associate the gaze direction with content displayed on the given tabletcomputer; and use the association of the gaze direction with contentdisplayed on the given tablet computer in selecting at least one item ofcontent to be displayed to the user. Optionally, the operations furthercomprising: receive a low charge message from a first of the tabletcomputers; determine a notification destination associated with thefirst tablet computer based on an identifier received from the firsttablet computer or a location associated with the first tablet computer;and transmit a low charge notification to the determined notificationdestination. Optionally, the generation of the model of the user face,comprises: convert an image from color to black and white; associateimage pixels with brightness gradients; divide the image into blocks;determine brightness gradient vectors corresponding to respective imageblocks; use the brightness gradient vectors to detect the user face;generate a facial fingerprint of the user face, the facial fingerprintcomprising a plurality of points corresponding to facial features of theuser face.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawingssummarized below. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may bere-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. Thedrawings are provided to illustrate example embodiments described hereinand are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1A(a)-1A(c), 1B(a)-1B(e), 1C, 1D(a)-1D(d) illustrate examples of adisplay device comprising a charging station.

FIGS. 1E(a)-1E(b), 1F(a)-1F(b) illustrates examples of a power bankstation that may be used to power/charge one or more display devicecharging stations.

FIGS. 1G-1Z, 1AA-1TT illustrate additional examples of display devicescomprising a charging station and of power bank stations that may beused to power/charge one or more display device charging stations.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture of the display devicecomprising a charging station.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example environment include display devices and aremote system.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example architecture and environment.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example architecture for charging stationmanagement system.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example embodiment of a multi-tier softwarearchitecture.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process for inspecting content.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example embodiment user detection process.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for selecting and renderingcontent.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process flow.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example backend process flow.

FIG. 11 illustrates example eye/gaze tracking grids.

FIGS. 12A-12K, 13A-13B illustrates example user interfaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a charging station combination,configured to charge other electronic products, and to distributed,networked applications therefor. It is understood that although thedescription herein may refer to a tablet charging station combination,other charging station configurations may be used, such as ahinged-computer charging station or a pyramid-shaped charging station(which may include some or all of the features of the tablet-chargingstation, but in a pyramid shape with a vertical or inclined display on aface of the pyramid).

As similarly discussed elsewhere herein, portable devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and wireless earbuds/headphones have become an evermore integral part of peoples' daily lives. Such devices may be used foror during phone calls, for messaging, for accessing calendarinformation, for browsing the Internet, for entertainment, and the like.However, as such portable devices are increasingly used throughout theday, their batteries are often depleted at an inopportune time causinglow battery anxiety among users. Conventional battery technology hasfailed to provide an adequate solution for ensuring users are able touse their devices throughout the day.

In order to address these and other technical problems, atablet-charging station combination, configured to charge otherelectronic products, is disclosed. In addition to being configured tocharge other devices, the disclosed tablet-charging station combinationmay be used to request and/or receive digital content from remotenetworked systems. The digital content may optionally be targeted to theuser based at least in part on the user's physical location. Thedetermination of the user's physical location may be based on knowledgeof the location of the tablet-charging station combination.

Combining a tablet computer with a battery charging station offerstechnical advantages and functionality not provided by a tablet computerand a separate, standalone battery charging station. For example, astandalone battery charging station is not configured to determine andwirelessly report the charge status of a user device being charged bythe standalone battery charging station or the amount of charge used bythe user device. Further, a standalone battery charging station is notconfigured to determine and wirelessly report the charge status of thestandalone battery charging station itself.

Still further, a standalone battery charging station is not configuredto enable content to be selected based in part on a charge level.Additionally, a standalone battery charging station is not configured toprompt a user to enter user identification information in response to auser device being connected to the standalone battery charging station.Yet further, a standalone battery charging station is not configured toprovide faster charging in response to a user providing certain userinformation or data.

A standalone tablet would not be able to charge multiple devices withoutitself needing to be recharged. In addition, a standalone tablet wouldnot be able to provide faster charging to a user device in response toreceiving user information or data. Nonetheless, certain advantageousand functionality described herein may be achieved by a standalonebattery charging station or a standalone tablet computer, even if someof the benefits of a combined tablet computer-battery charging stationare not achieved.

As will be described, tablet-charging stations may be distributed by acentral operator to a plurality of physical locations. For example, thephysical locations may be restaurants, airports, hotels, retail stores,and/or other locations. The tablet-charging stations may be provided forthe convenience of users visiting the locations so that such users maycharge their electronic devices. The tablet-charging station may beequipped with a relatively large battery to enable the tablet-chargingstation to charge multiple user devices serially and/or at the same timewithout having to be recharged itself. Optionally, when thetablet-charging station detects that the battery charge level hasdropped to a preset threshold or dynamically determined threshold, thetablet-charging station will respond by entering a low-power mode, werecertain circuitry and functions are still enabled (e.g., a GPS/locatormodule), while other functions are disabled to conserve power (e.g., thedisplay, the streaming of video content, etc.). Optionally, thetablet-charging station may be equipped with two sets of batteries, oneset to power the tablet-charging station itself, and another set tocharge user devices. This enables the tablet-charging station tocommunicate with remote systems and reproduce content, even if thebattery for charging user devices is discharged so that it cannot chargeuser devices.

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate example tablet-charging station combinations.FIGS. 1G-1TT illustrate additional examples of display devicescomprising charging stations and of power bank stations that may be usedto power/charge one or more display device charging stations.

Referring to example (a) in FIG. 1A, in this example a top levelincludes a touchscreen and bezel and a middle level includes a housingin which some of all of the station batteries are mounted. Optionally, abattery management circuit is included in the middle level. A bottomlevel includes other portions of the station circuitry (e.g., wirelessinterfaces, processor(s), graphics processing units, memory, a GPSradio, power management circuits, etc.). Speakers may be mounted to thebezel, the middle level, or the bottom level. The speakers may be frontfacing, rear facing or side facing. Optionally, audio may be played viathe speakers and/or via wired or wireless (e.g., BLUETOOTH)headphones/ear buds of the user connected to the station.

With reference to examples (b) and (c) in FIG. 1A, and examples (a) and(b) in FIG. 1B, the station housing may include one or more recessedretention channels via which respective one or more charging cables mayremovably reside for storage. For example, the channels may bepositioned on one or both sides of the housing (see, e.g., FIG. 1A(b),FIG. 1A(c), FIG. 1C) on the bottom of the housing (see, e.g., FIG.1B(a), FIG. 1B(a)), and/or on the top of the housing (not shown). Agiven cable may optionally be flat or rounded. The exterior of the cablemay be of a resilient material (e.g., a rubber or rubber-type material,a polymer material, etc.) that is compressible. A given cable retainingchannel may compress the cable and/or may be expanded by the cable, withthe resulting pressure and/or friction securely retaining the cablewithin the channel, while still allowing the cable to be easilywithdrawn from the retaining channel by hand. In addition or instead,tabs or other protrusion extending from one or both sides of theretaining channel to about 20%-50% of the channel width may be used toremovably retain the cable.

A given channel may extend to the end of a side of the station, wherethe corresponding cable may be anchored to a point inward a certaindistance from the end of the side of the station (see, e.g., FIG.1B(a)).

Other cable retention structures may be used to retain cables. Forexample, a given cable structure (e.g., a retaining spring in which thecable resides, a cable connector configured to mate with a connector ofa user device, etc.) may include ferrous material. One or more magnetsmay be positioned on or within the housing body and/or on or within thecable insulator or cable connector. When the portion of the cable thatincludes ferrous material is placed near or over a magnet, the magnetwill removably retain the cable (see, e.g., FIGS. 1H, 1I, 1J, 1K, 1Q,1T, 1U (detail A)). The one or more magnets may be located on the back,front, and/or sides of the housing. A retaining spring (e.g., a ferrous,nickel plated steel spring) may be wrapped around the cable, with oneend attached to the housing, to protect the cable and to aid in thecable automatically being positioned in a stowed position so that thespring and/or the cable connector is positioned over or near one or moremagnets (see, e.g., FIGS. 1H, 1I, 1J, 1K, 1Q, 1T, 1U). A cable cutoutmay be provided via which the cable extends. An internal cord grip maybe provided within the cable cutout to aid in retaining the spring in avertical orientation thus aiding the “self-finding” of the chargingcable onto the magnets so that the charging cable is in a stowedposition. Further, the positioning of the charging cable enables thelength of the charging cable to be minimized.

One side of a given cable may pass through an orifice in the stationhousing and may be connected to a power bank (e.g., a battery pack)within the station via hardwire or via a connector. Optionally, agrommet may be used to seal the orifice. The other side of the cable mayinclude a connector configured to mate with a connector of a userdevice. Different cables may have different mating connectors (e.g.,micro-USB connectors, USB-C connectors, USB-A connectors, LIGHTNINGconnectors, and/or other connectors) to connect to different models ortypes of user devices. Thus, a user can pull the appropriate cable fromits channel and connect the mating connector to the user device.

Optionally, a given cable may have a first connector configured to matewith a first type of user device connector, and an attached adapterwhich may be placed on the first connector to enable the cable to beconnected to a second type of user device connector (see, e.g., FIGS.1H, 1I, 1J, 1K, 1Q, 1T, 1U). For example, an adaptor cap may be providedthat has a first adaptor connecter (e.g., a female connector) that mateswith the first connector of the cable, and a second adapter connector(e.g., a male connector) configured to mate with a second type of userdevice connector, thereby enabling the cable to connect to user deviceshaving different types of connectors. By way of illustration, the firstconnector of the cable may be a USB-C male connector and the secondadapter connector may be a male LIGHTNING connector. Optionally, the capmay be retained to the cable (e.g., using a flexible strap, such as arubber, polymer, or metal retaining strap). Thus, a single cable, usingan attached adapter, may be utilized to connect to multiple connectortypes. Optionally, a given cable connector may be configuredmechanically and electrically to fit two different types of user deviceconnectors that comply with respective different standards (e.g., amicro USB connector and a LIGHTNING connector, see, e.g., FIG. 1U).Optionally, to enhance a user's privacy, a cable may only include powerlines and/or connector terminals (e.g., pins, sockets, traces, and/orthe like) and not data lines and/or connector terminals so that thecable may be used to charge a user device, but cannot be used to extractor receive data from the user device.

The station housing may include a retractable or folding stand (e.g., ahinged retractable stand or a foot/base member configured to rotatearound a pivot point of a hinge located on one side of the housing,where the foot/base rotates from a housing recess to a tablet supportingposition) configured to be swung outwards or downwards from the housingto support the housing at an incline in a landscape or portraitorientation (see, e.g., FIG. 1U). The stand may optionally be relativelynarrow to enable more components to be included in the hinge assembly.As will be described, the positioning of the housing relative to thebase member may be under software control. Optionally, the base membermay be configured to rotate outwards from the housing to one or morefixed set points (e.g., in the range of 50-75 degrees). A magnet may bepositioned in or on the base member and/or in or on the housing, whereinwhen the base member is in a retracted position, the magnet may retainthe base member against the housing. A channel or other recess may beformed in the housing configured to receive the base member when in theretracted/folded position. Optionally, a biasing member may be attachedto the stand and/or case. A biasing member may enable extension of theretractable stand from a retracted position to a first extendedposition, and from the first extended position to a second extendedposition.

FIGS. 1G-1U and 1HH-1JJ illustrate example stations including a basemember that is rotatable about a pivot to support the station display ata desired position. When not deployed the base member may be rotated byhand or via a motor into a recess on the back of the station or maysimply lie flat against the back of the station. In these examples, thepivot comprises a cylindrical hinge positioned at the bottom of thedisplay, although other shapes may be used. The cylindrical baseprovides a useful and intuitive way of indicating to a user the bottomand top of the station. The cylindrical base may include chargingcontacts on a fixed portion of the hinge (a fixed hinge knuckle).Optionally, the charging contacts are mounted to (on or within) the samehinge knuckle as a speaker. Orifices or a mesh may be provided in one ormore hinge components via which the speaker may emit sound (see, e.g.,FIGS. 1G, 1M, where there are speaker orifices on one side of thehinge).

Optionally, the hinge may be ratcheted. The hinge ratchet mechanism maybe used to hold the display at a given position/angle. The hinge pin maybe in the form of a stainless steel shaft placed through a hollowreceiving column (see, e.g., FIG. 1U, Section B). Each end of the pinmay reside in a saddle receiving area. A removable access plate may beprovided to enable the hinge pin to be inserted and/or to enable a ballspring plunger mechanism (if used) to be adjusted. The mechanism (e.g.,ball spring plunger mechanism, stepper motor, etc.) used to retain thestation display in a desired position may be configured to havesufficient torque hold capability to hold the display/tablet at anypermitted angle at a given stand set-point.

In certain implementations, the base member supports the station displayin portrait mode (see, e.g., FIGS. 1G, 1H, 1I, 1J, 1K, 1L, 1T, 1HH), andin certain implementations, the base member supports the station displayin landscape mode (see, e.g., FIGS. 1M, 1N, 10, 1P, 1Q, 1R, 1S, 1U,1JJ).

As illustrated in certain of the foregoing figures, the cylindrical basemay also include a speaker and associated speaker opening (e.g., aspeaker grille). Optionally, only one speaker is provided to reduceweight and size. In addition, the cylindrical base may also includecharging contacts/electrodes (e.g., 3 to 8 contacts), which may be inthe form of cantilevered leaf springs (or otherwise self-sprung) or maybe spring loaded to enable the station to be charged without the use ofa plug-in connector. For example, when the charging contacts are placedin contact with charging contacts of a charging station, current may beconducted via the charging contacts to charge the station batteries. Theelectrodes may be nickel or gold plated brass electrodes to provideenhanced conductivity. FIGS. 1M, 1N, 10, 1P, 1HH, III, 1JJ, illustrateexamples with 4 contacts on the cylindrical base/hinge.

Optionally, the stand may be motorized using a stepper or other motor soas to position the housing (and hence the camera) at a given desiredangle (e.g., using a piston arrangement, such as a pneumatic strut). Forexample, the stand base member may be rotated outward/downward tosupport the station (e.g., in a landscape position or a portraitposition) when the station is positioned on a supporting platform (e.g.,a table). The motor may rotate the station (e.g., the tablet) relativeto the supporting platform and base member so that the camera 206 is ata height and angle so that the detected user's face or eyes are within adesired position in the field of view. A motor angle command may betransmitted to the motor wirelessly (e.g., Bluetooth) or via a wiredconnection by the station via an API. User accessible rotation controlsmay be displayed via the station touch screen and/or may be provided asphysical buttons to enable the user to control the station displayangle. The motor may be configured with a voltage operating range (e.g.,2V-7V) compatible with available battery power. Optionally, where ahinged base member is used that rotates to a supporting position, thehinge may be positioned on a bottom side of the user device (e.g., in acylindrically-shaped hinge housing). Optionally, the batter(ies) may bepositioned off-center within the housing, towards the base of userdevice (where the hinge is at the base) to provide a low center ofgravity and greater stability (e.g., so the tablet/display will nottopple when position at an angle of 0-85 or 0-90 degrees relative to thebase member).

The stand (including the motor) may optionally be configured as aseparate unit from the station (tablet/display), with a receiving areaconfigured to removably receive the station. For example, the receivingarea may include clips to hold the station, a slot in which the stationis position, and/or the like. Optionally, the stand (including themotor) may be integral to the station, and is not configured to beremoved by a user without tools.

The station motor may be scheduled to automatically raise the tabletfrom a horizontal or other lowered position to a more upright positionon certain days and/or at certain times of day (e.g., at about anopening time of a venue to customers where the station is located).Optionally, the station motor may be scheduled to automatically lowerthe tablet from a relatively upright position to a relatively morehorizontal position (e.g., after closing time of a venue to customerswhere the station is located). Optionally, a remote system may transmita command to the tablet for the station motor to raise the tablet from ahorizontal or other lowered position to a more upright position, and/orto lower the tablet from a relatively upright position to a relativelymore horizontal position. Optionally, the station motor may raise thetablet from a horizontal or other lowered position to a more uprightposition in response to detecting a user's presence via the stationcamera or otherwise as similarly described herein. Optionally, inresponse to not detecting a user's presence for a specified time period(e.g., 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or other time period), thestation may command the station motor to automatically lower the tabletfrom a relatively upright position to a relatively more horizontalposition (e.g., to thereby indicate the stations availability to users).

The sides of the station housing may optionally be curved to make thestation more comfortable to hold in a user hand (see, e.g., FIG. 1B(c)).A bezel may be positioned on a side of the display, and a camera may bepositioned on the bezel (see, e.g., FIG. 1B(d)). The back of the stationmay optionally be curved/arched to raise the station display further offthe station's resting area (e.g., a table) and to provide a gap betweenthe resting area platform (e.g., table top) via which a user can insertfingers to pick-up the station (see, e.g., FIG. 1B(e)). FIG. 1Cillustrates a station with a power input connector (e.g., a USB-C, amicro-USB, or other connector).

FIG. 1D(a) illustrates a front side of the tablet, include speakerports. FIG. 1D(b) illustrates a left side of the station. FIG. 1D(c)illustrates a top side of the tablet. FIG. 1D(d) illustrates a bottomside of the station, including rubberized strips or feet (e.g., circularor rectangular rubber, polymer, or silicone feet positioned at eachcorner) to provide friction when placed on a surface. The feet, byraising the body of the tablet off the resting surface, providesenhanced ventilation of the bottom of the station, and provides addedgrip and friction, thereby better ensuring that the station does notslide off or be accidently pushed off the platform. Optionally, thebottom face of the station may be rubberized in whole or in part (e.g.,a rubberized strip at the top and the bottom) to provide added grip andfriction.

With reference to FIGS. 1E and 1F(a), (b), a power bank station may beprovided that may be used to power/charge one or more tablet-chargingstations at a time. For example, the power bank station may includemultiple slots (e.g., 4, 6, 12 or other number of slots) configured toreceive respective tablet-charging stations for charging. A given slotmay include a connector (e.g., a LIGHTNING, micro-USB, USB-C, or otherconnector) that mates with a tablet-charging station connector wheninserted into the slot. FIGS. 1E(a) and 1E(b) illustrate front and reartop perspective views of the power bank station when unpopulated. FIGS.1F(a) and 1F(b) illustrate front perspective and front views of thepower bank station when populated with tablet-charging stations.

Optionally, in addition or instead of using physical connectors,wireless charger circuits (e.g., Qi or PMA compatible wireless chargercircuits including primary coils) may be used to charge thetablet-charging station is they are configured for wireless charging.Optionally, the power bank station may include a processor and networkinterface (e.g., a wired or wireless network interface) and may be usedto receive and store content and/or programs/applications or updatesthereof from a remote source (e.g., a remote management system). Thepower bank station may then install the content and/orprograms/applications to a given tablet-charging station when thetablet-charging station is connected to the power bank station forcharging.

FIGS. 1V-1GG, 1KK-1TT illustrate still additional charging stations andcomponents thereof. The charging station may include one or morevertical tiers (see, e.g., FIGS. 1X, 1CC) where each tier includes oneor more receiving areas configured to receive and charge respectivetablet-charging stations. The tiers may be supported by a centralsupport structure that passes through the middle of each tier. The tiersmay be supported by one or more support structures connected to a sideof each tier.

A given tier may have a bowl-shaped bottom portion with a planar toppanel (see, e.g., FIG. 1X). The bottom portion and/or top plate maycomprise polygon shapes (e.g., triangles) that meet at respective shapeedges to provide a futuristic appearance. The bottom portion may be madeof metal (e.g., aluminum, steel, etc.) or plastic. The top panel mayinclude rows of receiving slots mounted thereon, where the rows may bepositioned as spokes to provide 360 degree access to the receivingslots. A slot may be angled to better receive the tablet-chargingstation and to enable a support person to view the tablet-chargingstation display. A receiving slot may be made of a transparent (e.g., asolid transparent plastic optionally made of polymethyl methacrylate)(see, e.g., FIGS. 1KK, 1LL, 1NN, 1OO, 1PP, 1QQ) or a non-transparentmaterial. A receiving slot may be configured to hold a tablet-chargingstation in portrait more or in landscape mode.

Optionally, a given tier may have an inverted bowl-shaped portion (see,e.g., FIGS. 1AA, 1CC, 1DD, 1EE), which may comprise polygon shapes(e.g., triangles) that meet at respective shape edges, Rather thanhaving the slots positioned on a flat panel, the slots may be positionedon the exterior slopping wall(s) of the inverted bowl-shaped portion ina staggered manner.

Each receiving slot may include a charging interface to provide chargecurrent to the tablet-charging station. The charging interface may be inthe form of metal contacts/electrodes. The electrodes may be held inplace using an M2.5 capscrew/washer/nut. The contacts/electrodes may bespring loaded rods or may be in the form of cantilevered leaf springs(or otherwise self-sprung springs) configured to come into contact withcorresponding contacts of the tablet-charging station when thetablet-charging station is inserted into the slot (see, e.g., FIGS. 1KK,1LL, 1OO, 1QQ, 1RR, 1SS, 1TT). The electrodes may be nickel or goldplated brass electrodes to provide enhanced conductivity. The charginginterface may be in the form of a connector configured to mate with aconnector of the tablet-charging station when the tablet-chargingstation is inserted into the slot. The charging interface may be in theform of a wireless charging coil configured to be in parallel with acoil of the tablet-charging station when the tablet-charging station isinserted into the slot. The slot may include physical guides to ensurethat the charging interface is properly position with respect to thetablet-charging station. The guides may be formed of stainless steel orof line bent transparent polycarbonate. The guides may tab and slotbonded into a stainless steel panel. Optionally, a charge indicator(e.g., an LED light) may be provided for each slot indicating whetherthe tablet-charging station is charging. Optionally, the color of theindicator may change depending on whether the tablet-charging station ischarging or is fully charged. Optionally, ultraviolet (UV) lights or anSPI/ozone generator may be used to kill spores, mold, and bacteria tothereby maintain hygiene. The UV lights may be discrete lightingelements or may be LED strip lights positioned under, on the side of, ofover the station slots. For example, two LED light strips may be mountedunderneath a given station. Optionally, switches may be provided to turnthe lights/SGI generator on and off.

Optionally, a separate or integral cover may be provided that whendeployed covers the charging station (see, e.g., FIGS. 1W, 1Z).Optionally, an electronically or keyed lock is provided that enables thecover to be locked in a closed position to protect tablet-chargingstations within. Optionally, when a separate cover is used it may belowered onto the charging station. Optionally, the cover is formed froma plurality of separate hinged leafs that fold downwards to cover all orportions of the exterior surface of the bottom of the charging station.Optionally, latches or magnets and ferrous materials may be provided onthe bottom of the charging station and on the leafs to hold the leafsagainst the bottom of the charging station.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture of a tablet-charging stationcombination 200 (which may be referred to as a “tablet-charging station”or simply as a “station”). FIG. 3 illustrates an example architectureincluding one or more tablet-charging station combinations 20-1 . . .200-N and one or more administrator terminals 302-1 . . . 302-N.Tablet-charging station combinations 200-1 . . . 200-N and one or moreadministrator terminals 302-1 . . . 302-N may be wirelessly networked toa remote cloud system 306 (e.g., a remote management system) over one ormore networks 108 (e.g., wide area networks, the Internet, an intranet,etc.).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the tablet-charging stationcombination 200 includes various user input/output devices, such as atouchscreen/display 202. The tablet-charging station combination 200,may include a variety of sensors. For example, the sensors may includesound, image, orientation, pressure, light, acceleration, pupiltrackers, and/or other sensors, configured to detect user input andinteraction with the tablet-charging station combination 200. Thetablet-charging station combination 200 may include one or moremicrophones 204, one or more cameras 206 (e.g., a front facing camera, arear facing camera, a camera with a magnifying lens, etc.), physicalcontrols 208 (e.g., a power on/off control, a volume control, a homecontrol, etc.), one or more speakers 210, and/or other user input/outputdevices. The tablet-charging station combination 200 may optionallyinclude a haptic engine 211 that provides kinesthetic communication tothe user (e.g., via vibrations or taps, which may be used to confirm auser input or to provide a notification), an accelerometer 212 thatmeasures acceleration in 2-3 directions, and/or a gyrometer (e.g., a3-axis gyroscope) 214 that measures orientation in three axis. Thetablet-charging station combination 200 may be equipped with an externalor integral physical keyboard, trackpad, joystick, electronic pen,and/or other input device.

The tablet-charging station combination 200 may include one or morewireless and/or wired interfaces. For example, the tablet-chargingstation combination 200 may include a WiFi interface 216, a Bluetoothinterface 218, a cellular interface 220 (which may optionally include orbe coupled to a SIM (subscriber identification module) device), an NFC(near field communication) interface 222, beacon module (e.g., aBLUETOOTH beacon module) 240, an identity module 242 (which may comprisean RFID circuit), and/or one or more physical connectors 224. Thetablet-charging station combination 200 may further comprise a processordevice (e.g., a microprocessor) 230, a graphics processing unit (GPU)231, volatile memory (e.g., RAM solid state memory) and non-volatilememory (e.g., FLASH/NAND memory) 232, and a power management device 234.In addition, a GPS/locator module 244 may be included that may beutilized in locating the physical location of the station 200.Optionally, a dedicated motion detector 246 may be provided that detectsmotion in the immediate vicinity, to thereby detect the presence of auser. The motion detector 246 may include an infrared sensor thatdetects heat being radiated by a person when the person moves into thefield of view of the infrared sensor. Optionally, motion detection mayinstead or in addition be performed using the camera 206. Thetablet-charging station combination 200 may include one or more slotsconfigured to receive SIM cards and/or memory cards (e.g., a version ofan SD memory card) which may be respectively used for wireless cellularcommunication and to store programs, content, or data.

Optionally, an eye tracking camera 239 may be provided and used to tracka user's gaze. For example, the eye tracking camera may include aninfrared or near infrared light source and an infrared camera. Theinfrared light (or near infrared) light is directed towards the centerof the user's eyes (the pupils), causing visible reflections in thecornea. These reflections (e.g., in the form of a vector between thecornea and the pupil) are tracked by the infrared camera to determinethe user's gaze. In particular, the infrared light that reaches theuser's pupil will have much less reflection than the infrared light thereaches the iris, thereby enabling the differentiation between the pupiland the iris, and enabling the tracking of the iris. Optionally, insteadof or in addition to using a dedicated eye tracking camera 239, the 206may be used to capture images of the user's eyes (including the pupils)and use computer vision to identify the pupils, and track the movementof pupils over time and while content is being presented.

Optionally, one or more motors 250 may be provided to enable the camera239 to be tilted, panned, or rotated so as to appropriately position theuser's face or eyes within the camera field of view. Optionally, themotors 250 may include a motor to move a lens closer or further from thecamera sensor for zoom-in, zoom-out functionality. Optionally, themotors 250 may include a motor that rotates the station housing relativeto a base so as to position the camera 239 to better view the user'sface or eyes. Optionally, the motors 250 may include stepper motors,linear motors, ball spring plunger mechanisms, and/or other mechanismsmay be provide for the indexing and accurate positioning of the lensand/or stand. The motors 250 may be under the automated control of theprocessor 230 or other control device and/or may be manually controlledby the user via corresponding touch screen or physical controls.

Optionally, the station 200 includes a multi-core, always-on visionprocessor unit (VPU) to enable certain of the computer vision functionsdescribed herein to be performed in a power-constrained system, such asthe station 200. The VPU may include one or more vision/imagingaccelerators. The VPU may be configured to accelerate machine learningand artificial intelligence execution (e.g., including the use ofconvolution neural networks).

Optionally, the housing of the tablet-charging station combination 200may include a unique optical code (e.g., a barcode, such as a QR matrixbarcode, or a linear barcode) that uniquely identifies thetablet-charging station combination 200 from other tablet-chargingstations. The optical code may be printed on a sticker affixed to thestation 200 or may be molded into a or etched into the body of thestation or on a removable protective case. The tablet-charging stationcombination 200 may host an operating system (e.g., Android, iOS,Windows, or other operating system).

Optionally, the physical connectors 224 may include an input connectorused to charge the tablet-charging station combination 200. As similarlydiscussed above, the physical connectors 224 may include one or morecharge output connectors configured to receive mating connectors viawhich user devices may be connected for charging. The connectors 224 mayinclude one or more micro-USB connectors, USB-C connectors, USB-Aconnectors, LIGHTNING connectors, and/or other connectors. Optionally,the input connector used to charge the tablet-charging stationcombination 200 may also be used to connect a trouble shooting device totroubleshoot and repair the tablet-charging station combination 200. Forexample, the troubleshooting process may include loading certain datainto memory and reading the data out, and verifying that the datamatches. Optionally, instead, a separate connector may be provided fordebug purposed.

Optionally, one or more of the connectors (e.g., a connector of a cablefor charging a user device) may be a magnetic connector providing astrong, secure connection with a matching magnetic cable. The magneticcable may include multiple types of connectors (e.g., a micro-USBconnector, a USB-C connector, a USB-A connector, a LIGHTNING connector,and/or other connector) on the user device end to enable the connectorto be used with different device types. The use of a magnetic connectormay reduce connector damage as compared to conventional mechanicalconnectors. Additionally, the use of a magnetic connector may avoiddamage to the tablet-charging station combination 200 that mightotherwise result from a user tripping over the cable or inadvertentlyyanking the cable, as the cable will safely disconnect rather thanpulling the tablet-charging station combination 200 to the ground.

The GPU 231 may include a dynamic shut down functionality to reducepower consumption with the GPU 231 is not needed for graphics processingor when the charge level of the battery 238 falls below a preset level.The GPU 231 may enhance and provide faster game play for video games andfor video playback.

In addition, the illustrated tablet-charging station combination 200includes a battery system 235, including a power bank 236 configured tocharge other devices and a battery system 238 configured to power thetablet-charging station combination 200. The power bank 236 may includeone or more batteries, such as one or more lithium batteries. Thecapacity of the power bank 236 may be selected as appropriate for thecharging application. For example, in a low volume user base location orfor a physically small tablet-charging station, a relatively smallbattery capacity may be used (e.g., 1000-4000 mAh (milli-ampere hour) at3.7V). By way of further example, in a high-volume user base location orfor a physically larger tablet-charging station, a relatively largebattery capacity may be used (e.g., 4000-25000 mAh at 3.7V). By way offurther example, the battery 238 may include multiple batteries (e.g.,two 4,000 mAh batteries) while the power bank 236 may include adifferent number of batteries (e.g., a 8,000 mAh battery).

Optionally, the power bank 236 and/or the battery 238 may be configuredto be wirelessly charged. For example, the power bank 236 and/or thebattery 238 may be configured with Qi or PMA compatible wirelesscharging circuits (including a planar receiving/secondary coil) enablinginductive charging. The coil(s) may be positioned towards the back ofthe housing. Optionally, a recess, sleeve, cradle, or other user devicereceiving area may be affixed to or formed on the back of thetablet-charging station 200 configured to receive a user device forwireless charging (see, e.g., FIGS. 1I, 1J, 1K, 1L, 10, 1P, 1Q, 1T, 1U).If a sleeve is used, the sleeve may be an elastic sleeve (e.g. a meshnylon or other polymer sleeve) so as to fit a variety of different sizedevices (e.g., different size smart phones). The sleeve may be sopositioned over the charging coil of the tablet charging station 200 sothat it is in charging range of the coil of the user device. Similarly,if cradle or recess is provided to receive the user device, a fixed bar,openable bar, or elastic strap (e.g., a polymer/elastomer strap) may beprovided to hold the user device within the cradle or recess.

Optionally, a ratchet assembly may be provided that enables the user toincrementally tighten a strap to hold the user device against the rearof the station 200. For example, a pawl may be configured to engage inteeth formed on or attached to the strap (e.g., a strap buckle). Auser-accessible release actuator may be provided to enable the user todisengage the pawl to thereby loosen the strap and release the userdevice. Optionally, the ratchet and release actuator may be motorcontrolled, where the motors may be commanded to tighten the strap orloosen the strap in response to a user activation of a tighten controlor release control respectively.

The sleeve, cradle, or recess may have a soft material, such as apolyurethane, polymer or cloth pad where the sleeve, cradle, or recesswill come into contact with the user device housing so as to avoidscratching or otherwise damaging the user device housing. A bottom lipmay be provided to better support the user device while being retainedby a sleeve, a fixed bar, an openable bar, or an elastic strap. Thistechnique enables the user to carry or hold the tablet-charging station200 while still charging the user's device.

Optionally, rather than having a separate power bank 236 and battery238, the battery system 235 may include a single battery bank, where thesame battery bank is be used to power both the tablet-charging stationand to charge another device. If a single battery bank is used,optionally it may be operated as a “virtual” two bank system that givespriority to certain circuits and functions of the tablet-chargingstation 200 over charging external devices. For example, when thetablet-charging station 200 detects that the battery charge level of thesingle battery bank has dropped to or below a preset threshold ordynamically determined threshold, the tablet-charging station willrespond by entering a low-power mode, were certain tablet-chargingstation circuitry and functions are still enabled (e.g., a GPS/locatormodule, a wireless network interface for reporting location informationfrom the locator module), while other functions are disabled to conservepower (e.g., the charging of external devices, the display, thestreaming of video content, and/or other functions and correspondingcircuit). This technique enhances the likelihood that thetablet-charging station 200 may still perform certain importantfunctions for a relatively longer period of time, and optionally, forlong enough that it is likely the battery bank will be recharged priorto being so discharged that is cannot perform those certain importantfunctions.

The power management 234 device may provide overcharging and overdischarging protection with respect to charging user devices via thepower bank 236.

One or more visual indicators 243 may be provided (e.g., LED indicators,e-ink indicators, or the like) that indicate the level of charge of thepower bank 236 and/or the battery 238.

The front facing camera 206 may be positioned so that it may view auser's face when the tablet-charging station combination 200 is placedon its planar backside on a flat surface, or when the station 200 issupported at an incline via a built-in stand (as similarly discussedelsewhere herein), with the camera positioned on the tablet-chargingstation combination 200 front side. The tablet-charging stationcombinations may utilize the camera 206 to capture, record, and/orstream video (and/or still image) data (which may be stored or streamedin association with captured audio data) to other systems.

The front facing camera 206 (which includes a lens mounted on orprotruding through the tablet housing) is optionally configured tooptimally scan faces that are within a certain distance from the camera206 (e.g., 16-22 inches away, or more particularly 18 inches).Optionally, the camera 206 may be zoomable under processor control toobtain a desired magnification of a user face. The camera 206 may have arelatively wide field of view (e.g., a 180-300 degree field of view, ormore particularly, a 270 degree field of view). Optionally, the cameramay have a fish eye lens (e.g., a hemisphere lens that takes in about a180° hemisphere field of view and projects it onto a camera imagingsensor) and/or a macro lens. Optionally, a difishing software module maybe used to undistort the image captured using the fisheye lens. Forexample, the difishing software module may remap the captured image intoa rectilinear projection. By way of further example, a remappingalgorithm may optionally be utilized that only corrects distortion alongone axis in order to retain more of the image and so that lines runningvertically in a landscape image will be corrected to appear straight,while still proving a wide field of view. Optionally, the front facingcamera 206 may be motorized (e.g., using one or more servo motors) so asto rotate, tilt, or pan the camera under processor control to center adetected user face (or portion thereof, such as the user's eyes) withinthe captured image/onto the camera sensor, and/or to track the user facein real time.

The tablet-charging station camera 206 may be utilized to monitor motionand/or user interactions content presented by the tablet-managementcharging station. For example, the output of the camera 206 may bemonitored by the device management program and/or by the remotemanagement system to detect user presence and/or motion (e.g., headmovement). Optionally, in addition or instead, motion detection may beperformed using the dedicated motion/presence detector 246 as discussedelsewhere herein.

In particular, the camera 206 may be configured to observe a user of thetablet-charging station 200 and determine if the user is viewing contentpresented by the tablet-charging station 200. The camera 206 may beutilized to perform facial recognition to identify and/or authenticate auser based on facial features. The camera 206 may be configured todetect motion within its field of view. As discussed above, the camera206 may be configured to automatically rotate, tilt, or pan to center orotherwise move the camera 206 so that the user's face is within adesired position in the field of view. Certain actions may be taken inresponse to the detection of motion and/or such motion detection datamay be stored.

The camera 206 may be configured to detect a user's pupils, includingthe position and movement of the user's pupils so as to determine whatthe user is looking at may optionally detect pupil dilation. Such pupilinformation may be used in determining content that is of interest tothe user and in selecting other content for presentation to the user.For example, with reference to FIG. 11, an eye 1100 may be detected inan image (or a series of images, such as frames in a video), and avirtual grid 1102 may be overlaid on an image of the eye 1100. The gridmay contain numerous cells or quadrants (e.g., 24, 45, or 90 quadrants).The position of the pupil 1104 with respect grid cells/quadrants may bedetermined. For example, a determination may be made as to which gridcells (e.g., relative to reference point, such as grid cell 1, 1) arefully occupied by a portion of the pupil 1104, which grid cells arefully occupied by a portion of the pupil 1104, and which grid cells arenot occupied by a portion of the pupil 1104. Based on the foregoing andthe distance of the edges of the pupil from the reference point, adetermination may be made as to which direction the pupil is gazing at.Referring to FIG. 11(a), the pupil position indicates the user is gazingdirectly towards the tablet camera. Referring to FIG. 11(a), the pupilposition indicates the user is gazing towards the bottom left area ofthe tablet display. Referring to FIG. 11(c), the pupil positionindicates the user is gazing upwards to the right, and away from thetablet display.

By way of further example, the pupil movement may be tracked using thecenter of the pupil and using light (e.g., visible light orinfrared/near-infrared non-collimated light) to create cornealreflections. A vector between the pupil center and the cornealreflections can be used to compute the gaze direction.

A given tablet-charging station combination 200 may include or beconfigured with media players that enable the tablet-charging stationcombination 200 to play video and/or audio content, and display stillimages.

The camera 206 may also be utilized to capture an image of the user forpurposes of recognizing the user during later utilization of the same ora different tablet-charging station combination. For example, an imageof a user may be captured by a tablet-charging station combination andstored by the remote system. As discussed above, a motorized chargingstation stand may be utilized so as to change the height and/or angle ofthe camera 206 so as to center or otherwise appropriately position theuser's face/eyes within a desired portion of the field of view. Inaddition or instead, the camera 206 may be motorized and controlled soas to rotate, tilt, or pan the camera 206 so as to center or otherwiseappropriately position the user's face/eyes within a desired portion ofthe field of view. Advantageously, in order to enhance privacy andreduce storage memory utilization, the image of the user is not storedin persistent memory by the remote system, Instead, a set of brightnessgradient vectors corresponding to certain characteristics of the user'sfacial features are stored. The station or remote system may extractfacial features and identify distinguishing features, and/or use aphotometric/statistical analysis technique, which distills an image intovalues and compares the values with templates to reduce or eliminatevariances. For example, a user's face may be modeled using a certainnumber of points (e.g., 64 points, 128 points, 256 points, 512 points).Such points may be used in generating a fingerprint of the user's faceand may be stored in association with information related to the user'sinteractions with content.

Prior to performing a facial analysis, the image may be converted fromcolor to black and white to simplify processing. The number of pointsused may be selected based on need for accuracy and need to reduceprocessing power bandwidth consumption. In generating the points, pixelsin the image may be associated with generated gradients indicating theflow from light to dark across the image to reduce variations related tothe brightness or darkness of the image as a whole. Optionally, theimage may be divided into square blocks of pixels (e.g., 4×4, 8×8,16×16, 32×32, etc.). For a given square, a determination may be made asto how many gradients point in a given direction (e.g., up, up-right,up-right, right, left, down, down-right, down-left, etc. A given blockmay then be associated with (replaced by) an arrow or vector indicatingwhich directions were the strongest. The resulting gradient may be usedto detect and isolate a user face in the image for further processing.Optionally, any misalignment/non-centering of the face may be identifiedand corrected by applying a transform to center the face in the image(e.g., based on the location of eyes and bottom lip). Optionally, if twofaces are present and detected, the larger face (closet to the camera)will be used to generate the facial fingerprint. The actual photographimage and/or gradient data may be deleted from memory to enhance privacyand security and to reduce memory utilization. The fingerprint of theuser's face may be encrypted and stored to provide further security andprivacy.

The fingerprint of the user's face may be compared against previouslycaptured reference facial fingerprints stored in a facial fingerprintdata store. If a match is found, then the corresponding records (e.g.,of past user interactions with content, likes of content, dislikes ofcontent, etc.) associated with the facial fingerprint may be accessedand used as described elsewhere herein. If a match is not found, thennew records may be created and associated with the facial fingerprint.

Optionally, a Deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) may be utilized togenerate the points. The points may be in the form of a list ofcomputer-generated numbers generated through an embedding process. Adistance based classification (e.g., where the vector distance may bedetermined to calculate how similar two faces are) may optionally beutilized as it is more scalable as compared to a model classificationwhich will become more computationally expensive as the database grows.The distance based classification may be performed using a machinelearning classification algorithm (e.g., a Linear Support Vectorclassifier that utilizes supervised learning models with associatedlearning algorithms that analyze data used for classification andregression analysis, an Extreme Learning Machine-based single layer feedforward network, and the like).

Optionally, in order to account for a user face in an image being tiltedor being at a different angle than a reference facial fingerprint, animage may be warped (e.g., using face landmark estimation) so thatcertain features (e.g., lips and eyes) are always in the same locationin the image. For example, an image of a face may be scaled and shearedso that the lips and eyes are relatively centered.

Optionally, the front facing camera may be configured to capture threedimensional images of a user's face. For example, the front facingcamera may be configured to capture information about the shape of aface by projecting thousands of dots (e.g., 10,000-60,000 dots) using adot projector that includes a laser diode, such as a vertical-cavitysurface-emitting laser (VCSEL). This information may be used to identifydistinctive features on the surface of a face, such as the contour ofthe nose, lips, chin, eye sockets, etc.

The use of a dot projector enables a two dimension image to be createdfrom a three dimensional source. Advantageously, the use of a dotprojector reduces effects from changes in ambient lighting. Further, theforegoing three dimensional image capture techniques may be utilized torecognize a user from a wide range of viewing angles, such as from aprofile view.

Thus, when a user's image is captured, a facial fingerprint may begenerated and a search may be performed to find a file with a matchingfacial fingerprint. If a match is found, a determination may be made asto whether there is an associated user profile (e.g., that indicates theuser's responses to previous content, such as user emotions, likes ordislikes, clicks, other responses discussed herein, or the like). Theuser profile may be used in selecting content or content types to bedisplayed to the user. The user profile may exclude data (e.g., emailaddress, physical address, name, credit card information, socialsecurity number, driver's license number, etc.) that can be used todetermine the actual identity of the user, thereby preserving useranonymity and privacy.

The user's image may also be analyzed to determine age, gender, and/orethnicity of the user. This information may also be stored in the userprofile and may be used in selected and targeting content to the user inthe future, as described elsewhere herein. For example, a DeepConvolutional Neural Network (Deep CNN) may use an age classificationmodel, a gender classification model, and an ethnicity classificationmodel to determine the foregoing demographic data from an image. Stillfurther, the image may also be analyzed to identify objects in theimage, such as whether the user is wearing a tie, a suit, jewelry, or isholding a drink or eating food. For example, a Deep CNN may be utilizedto perform object detection and classification. By way of furtherexample, the VGG, Inception, or YOLO algorithm may be utilized toperform object detection and classification. Such object information mayprovide additional insights into the user's age, gender, ethnicity,income, food preferences, clothing preferences, jewelry preferences,and/or the like. Thus, detected objects may be added to a user profileand used to select content for display to the user. For example, if theuser is wearing jewelry, jewelry-related content (e.g., jewelryadvertisements) may be selected and displayed to the user.

An application may be utilized to request and/or receive data fromremote systems and to transmit data to remote systems, optionallyincluding audible input received from a user via the microphone(s) 204(and digitized using an analog-to-digital converter) and video contentcaptured via the camera(s) 206 transmitted over a network to the system106. The data transmitted from the application may include a uniqueidentifier associated with the application and/or station 200. The datatransmitted from the application may include location information (e.g.,GPS data) from the station 200. The audible and video content may bestored locally on the tablet-charging station combination and/or on thesystem 106 for later access and playback. The tablet-charging stationcombinations may utilize one or more microphones 204 to receive voicedata and/or commands. For example, multiple microphones may be used toprovide directionality. One or more speakers 210 and/or wired orwireless headphones/ear buds of the user connected to the station, maybe utilized to play audible content.

User inputs (e.g., commands and/or data) may also be received by thetablet-charging station combination 200 via a keyboard, a stylus, viavoice entry (provided via the microphone 204) which may be converted totext via a voice-to-text module, and/or via pupil movement captured bythe camera 206. As noted above, the keyboard and/or stylus mayoptionally be included with the tablet-charging station combination 200.

Optionally, one or more game controllers may wired to thetablet-charging station combination 200 to facility the playing of gamesprovided by the tablet-charging station combination 200. Optionally, inaddition or instead, the game controllers may be wirelessly paired tothe tablet-charging station combination 200 using Bluetooth or otherprotocol.

The identity module 242 (which may comprise an RFID circuit and/or maybe included in the NFC interface 222) and/or the external optical code(e.g., a QR code) may be scanned periodically by an administrator (e.g.,using a phone or other mobile device with an NFC or RFID sensor and/or acamera capable of photographing optical codes). The scannedidentification information may be used for tablet-charging stationcombination setup and/or to track tablet-charging station combinationinventory, tablet-charging station combination repairs, assign a stationto a location, activate a station, and/or the like.

Optionally, the display 202 may be between 7-12 inches in diagonal toprovide a display large enough to display content that is easily visibleto users, while still enabling the tablet-charging station combination200 to be easily portable. Optionally, the display 202 may have arelatively high resolution (e.g., 2048×2732, 2224×1668, 1536×2048,1125×2436, 1080×1920, 750×1334, etc.) to provide a sharp and legibledisplay.

Optionally, the display 202 comprises a 3D (three dimensional)autostereoscopic display. For example, optionally the display utilizes alenticular lens, a parallax barrier, a volumetric display, or aholographic display, to provide 3D effects without requiring the user towear special glasses. Optionally, upon determining an identify of auser, the tablet-charging station combination renders, via the display,a character to greet the user that the user has previously selected.Optionally, the character is rendered in 3D.

Using the WiFi interface 216, the tablet-charging station 200 may beconfigured to, as a default, connect to and communicate via WiFinetworks identified by the tablet-charging station that thetablet-charging station has been configured to connect to (e.g., thetablet-charging station has the corresponding WiFi network password).Optionally, if such a WiFi network is not located by the tablet-chargingstation, the tablet-charging station may switch communications to asecondary network (e.g., a cellular network accessible using thecellular interface 220).

The tablet-charging stations 200 may communicate with remote systems,such as a remote management system (e.g., network operations center(NOC) system) configured to manage tablet-charging station combinationsat a plurality of different physical locations, receive battery chargingstatus data, and facilitate the targeting of third party digital content(e.g., digital music, videos, movie or television previews, images,advertisements, video games, and/or the like). Certain content may bestreamed to the tablet-charging stations and certain content may bestored on the tablet-charging stations, as discussed elsewhere herein.Non-limiting examples of content may include information on products(e.g., wine or food guides), on cities (e.g., city guides), andregarding a specific establishment (e.g., menus, product availability,etc. of the establishment). Further examples of content include videopodcasts, audio (e.g., songs, audio books, podcasts, etc.), games,advertisements, blogs, microblogs, image galleries, and/or the like.

Data transmitted or received by the tablet-charging station combination200 or the remote management system may be secured by establishing avirtual private network (VPN) which establishes an encryptedtransmission path between the tablet-charging station combination 200and the remote management system. Optionally, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)and a secure transfer tunnel may be used to encrypt data in transitbetween the tablet-charging station combination 200 (e.g., via an appand/or browser hosted on the tablet-charging station combination) andthe remote management system. Optionally, some or all of the informationmay be stored on the tablet-charging station combination 200 and/or theremote management system using file encryption.

The tablet-charging station tablet-charging station combination 200 mayhave a device management program installed thereon that manages certaindevice operations and interactions with a user. The device managementprogram may be wirelessly downloaded or loaded via a wired programmingdevice.

The device management program may be initiated by the device managementprogram upon ‘power on’ of the tablet-charging station 200 and may thenactivate other device functions discussed herein. Optionally, thetablet-charging station 200 does not include a physical or soft controlvia which an end user can power the device on and/or off. This ensuresthat the tablet-charging station 200 is available for immediate use byother end users, and may display content even when not actively beingused to charge a user device. Optionally, the remote management systemmay transmit a power on and/or activate command to the tablet-chargingstation 200, which will cause the station to power up. Similarly,optionally the remote management system may transmit a poweroff/deactivate command to the tablet-charging station 200, and thestation may power off/deactivate. A deactivation process may identify(e.g., using an associated device identifier) that the tablet-chargingstation 200 is not currently available to request, receive, and/ordisplay content.

Optionally, the device management program is configured so that it maynot be uninstalled by an end user (a user using the tablet-chargingstation to charge their device) and/or by the location owner/operator.Optionally, the tablet-charging station 200 may be configured to preventinstallation of applications by end users or the installation ofunauthorized applications by service personnel. The device managementprogram may enable location-based services for the tablet-chargingstation 200. Optionally, the station 200 may be configured so thatlocation-based services cannot be disabled by end users or by servicepersonnel without appropriate permissions.

Optionally, the device management program is configured to provide thebattery status of the tablet-charging station 200 to the tablet-chargingstation's operating system framework (e.g., the Android framework) toenable the operating system to provide battery charge statusfunctionality, such as the display of the battery status. Optionally,the device management program may be configured to provide or to accessone or more content playback engines. A playback engine may provide aplayback area, a play control, a reverse control, a forward control, askip control, a repeat control, a volume control, a like control, adislike control, and/or other user controls which a user may utilize tocontrol content playback and to provide feedback regarding content. Theremote management system may use the received user feedback (e.g.,content likes and dislikes, user emotions as determined via facialexpressions or voice/speech) to determine what content should be servedto the user in the future. The system may utilize user feedback to inferdemographics regarding the user. For example, certain content may tendto be more liked or disliked by people of a certain age, income, gender,marital status, etc. The inferred demographics may be stored inassociation with the user feedback. In addition, the age, gender, andethnicity of the user may be determined from images of the user, asdescribed elsewhere herein.

Optionally, the tablet-charging station 200 may be remotely configuredby the remote management system to wirelessly connect to a local WiFinetwork at the establishment at which the tablet-charging station islocated. Optionally, the tablet-charging station may be locallyconfigurable to wirelessly connect to a local WiFi network via a WiFiconnection user interface by authorized personnel (e.g., by anadministrator located at the establishment or by a service agent).

Optionally, the tablet-charging station 200 may, upon power-up and/orperiodically, transmit a tablet-charging station device identifier(e.g., a heartbeat signal) to the remote management system and anindication that the tablet-charging station 200 is ready and availableto receive content for display and/or audible playback. As will bedescribed, the management program may track the charge level of thetablet-charging station 200. The management program may detect when userdevices are connected for charging (e.g., day/time), determine theircharge level upon connection to the tablet-charging station 200,determine their charge level upon disconnection from the tablet-chargingstation 200, determine how long they are connected for charging,determine how much charge they used, and determine the location of thetablet-charging station 200 during charging operations. Some or all ofthe determinations, detections, and other data may be transmitted fromthe tablet-charging station 200 to the remote management system. Suchdata may be analyzed and used to determine the efficacy of the currentplacement of tablet-charging stations, and to determine new placementsthat would result in more content (e.g., targeted content) being viewedby users.

Optionally, the tablet-charging station 200 and/or remote systems may beinhibited from tracking and storing certain types of user device data topreserve users' privacy. However, optionally, certain user provided data(e.g., user information voluntarily provided using an interfacepresented by the tablet-charging station) may be received and stored. Byway of further example, user responses to content (e.g., advertisements,movies, clips, audio tracks, images, etc.), responses to offers,requests for delivery of items (e.g., a version of the tablet) may bereceived and stored and used in permitted manners. Optionally, images ormodels of a user's face will not be stored or used until the userprovides explicit consent for such storage and use. The consent may bereceived via a consent form that explains the intended storage and useof the images and/or model of the user face, where the user clicks on aconsent box or otherwise indicates consent. The consent may be stored inassociation with the images and/or models.

Optionally, in order to use the tablet-charging station 200 the user mayneed to download a tablet-charging station access application on theuser device to be charged. Optionally, upon the initial connection of auser device, a determination will be made by the tablet-charging station200 or the remote management system as to whether the tablet-chargingstation access application is installed on the user device. If theremote management system determined that the application is notinstalled on the user device (e.g., based on a failure to receive amessage from such application, the user may be prompted to enter a phonenumber and/or email address of the user, and the remote managementsystem may text or email a link to download the application. The linkmay provide a link to a version of the tablet-charging station accessapplication available on an application store applicable to the userdevice operation system. For example, if the user device utilizes theANDROID operating system, the link may be to an ANDROID app store. ifthe user device utilizes the IOS operating system, the link may be to anIOS app store.

Optionally, the tablet-charging station access application may be usedto detect if any stations are within a threshold distance or travel timeof the user device, and if so, a notification may be provided to theuser via the tablet-charging station access application. Optionally, auser interface is provided via which the user can specify the distanceor travel time threshold. For example, the notification may be in theform of a map showing the location of stations and their distance and/ortravel time from the user device. Optionally, a pop-up notification maybe displayed on the user device textually indicating that a station iswithin a specified distance. Optionally, the support application maytrack and time stamp the users location (e.g., every 10 feet, everyhundred feet, or other elapsed distance). A map and/or text describingthe user's movements may be generated and provided to the user and/orother authorized users (e.g., a supervisor).

Optionally, the support application may provide navigation, turn byturn, directions (e.g., textually, and/or graphically via a map) fromthe user's current location to the location of a station selected by theuser. The map and directional information may optionally be generated bya remote system and provided to the tablet-charging station accessapplication for display. Optionally, the tablet-charging station accessapplication may provide a user interface via which the user can specifya travel mode (e.g., car, bike, foot, public transportation) and thedistance and/or travel time determination will be based on the specifiedtravel mode. Optionally, the tablet-charging station access applicationmay estimate the user's current travel mode (e.g., by detecting theuser's movement speed) and use the estimated travel mode to generatingdistance and travel time estimates.

Optionally, in response to detecting a user device being connected tothe tablet-charging station 200, the tablet-charging station mayautomatically prompt the user (via a user interface) to provide a usermobile phone number and/or email each time the user connects the user'sdevice to the tablet-charging station 200. The tablet-charging station200 may transmit the mobile phone number and/or email to the remotemanagement system, which may determine if the user has an associatedaccount/profile stored on the remote management system. If adetermination is made that the user has an associated account/profile,the user's profile may be utilized to select and/or schedule content tobe displayed to the user via the tablet-charging station. Othertechniques may be utilized to identify the user, such as a userID andpassword provided by the user to the tablet-charging station.

Optionally, a determination is made by the remote management system, byanalyzing the user account/profile, as to whether the user has agreed toshare the user's contact database. If the user had not previously agreedto share the user's contact database, the user may be prompted to do so.If the user agrees to share the user's contact database (and optionallyprovides a userID and/or password to access the user's cloud-basedcontact database), the remote management system may access and downloadthe user's contact database, and may associate the content database withthe user's account. The user's consent to share the contact database maybe stored in association with the user's account.

Optionally, an application installed or accessed by the station 200 mayrequest the user to provide log in credentials (e.g., userID, password,biometric data, etc.), provide certain user profile data, and/or requestuser permission to access certain user data, such as user contactdatabase data, calendar data, photographs, and/or social network data(e.g., the user's social graph). The profile data may include genderdata, age data, physical address data, income data, interests data,and/or other data. Optionally, when the user device is connected to atablet-charging station, a user identifier is provided to the remotemanagement system via the application (e.g., wirelessly without use ofthe tablet-charging station, or via the tablet-charging station). Asdiscussed herein, the user identifier may be utilized to track theuser's usage of the tablet-charging station and/or may be utilized toenable content to be targeted to the user, optionally in combinationwith the user's location as discussed elsewhere herein. Thedetermination of the user's current physical location may be based onknowledge of the location of the tablet-charging station.

Optionally, a tablet-charging station 200 and/or the remote managementsystem is configured to detect and report certain types of informationrelated to the station 200, a set of stations, the remote managementsystem, or the entire system. For example, the remote management systemmay be configured to detect and report (e.g., based data received fromstations and/or from internal data): the number, types, length ofcontent served and/or displayed over a period of time, the number ofuser interactions (e.g., viewing of content as determined by a camera,clicking on links associated with the content, etc.) with a given typeof content over the period of time; the number, types, length of contentserved and/or displayed while a given user device was attached to and/orcharging from a station, the number of user interactions (e.g., viewingof content as determined by a camera, clicking on links associated withthe content, etc.) with a given type of content while the given userdevice was attached and/or charging; the amount of time thetablet-charging station display is on and off; the number of overrides,the number of credit refunds, the amount of credit refunds, and/or thelike.

The information may be analyzed and corresponding statistics generated,such as the average or median (or other central tendency) of certaintypes of the foregoing detected information, such as the total, averageand/or median number of: types, length of content served and/ordisplayed over a specified period of time; the number of userinteractions (e.g., viewing of content as determined by a camera and/orclicking on links with a given type of content over the specified timeperiod of time); the number, types, length of content served and/ordisplayed while user devices are attached and/or charging; the number ofuser interactions with a given type of content while user devices areattached and/or charging; the total revenue from presenting content; therevenue from presenting content per device; the percentage and/or timebooked for showing third party content, the number of overrides, thenumber of credit refunds, the amount of credit refunds, and/or the like.

The remote management system may collect and aggregate certain data frommultiple tablet-charging stations at multiple locations and generate thestatistical information based on an analysis of such aggregated data ora subset thereof. Optionally, the analysis may be limited, via a userinterface, to a user specified time period (e.g., the current day, aspecified data range, a specified month, a specified quarter, aspecified year), territory, location, chain, station model, and/orassigned support person. Optionally, for each metric for a specifiedtime period (e.g., the current day, the current week, the current month,the current quarter, the current year, etc.), the corresponding metricsfor the corresponding previous time period (e.g., the previous day, theprevious week, the previous month, the previous quarter, the previousyear, etc.) may be displayed, and the percentage difference between thetime period may be generated and displayed. Optionally, trendlines/graphs may be generated and displayed for a given metric for aspecified time frame.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example architecture and environment that furtherelucidates different user roles. In this example, two physical locationsare illustrated, where a given location may be a type of establishment(e.g., a restaurant, a retail store, a movie theater, a hotel, anairport, etc.). A given location may be associated with a location owneror operator. Each location may include one or more tablet-chargingstations. One or more of the tablet-charging stations may be connectedto a user device (e.g., a user cellular phone, portable game console,etc.). A service person (e.g., a sales person or information technologyperson) may service tablet-charging stations, download content totablet-charging stations (via a portable content downloading device),conduct inventory, provide and/or retrieve tablet-charging stations,and/or perform other tasks.

A content provider (e.g., an advertiser) may create and manage contentfor distribution over a network to tablet-charging stations.

A remote management system, such as a network operations center (NOC)system and console, may be utilized to manage service personnel andcontent providers, and may be used to provide or manage the provision ofcontent to tablet-charging stations. For example, the NOC system may beenabled to remotely activate or deactivate tablet-charging stations. Aspart of the activation process, the NOC system may identify a giventablet-charging station as being able to request and receive content(e.g., ads). As part of the deactivation process, the NOC system mayidentify a given tablet-charging station as being not available torequest and receive content (e.g., ads). As noted elsewhere herein, thetablet-charging station may optionally not include end user accessiblecontrols for turning the tablet-charging station on or off. As similarlydiscussed elsewhere herein, the NOC system may be configured to accessand report the charge status of tablet-charging stations. The NOC systemmay be configured to cause tablet-charging stations to connect to localWiFi networks (e.g., by providing the password and network identifier ofthe network at the establishment at which the tablet-charging station islocated).

As discussed elsewhere herein, the remote management system may detectand track user interactions, current content being displayed, chargestatus, impressions, amount of time types of content were played while auser was viewing the station display, and other information discussedherein. The system may analyze such data and generate analysis resultsfor display as similarly described elsewhere herein.

In order to maintain high performance and available memory, purge anddefragmentation/cleanup processes may be performed with respect totablet-charging station memory. For example, the purge anddefragmentation/cleanup processes may be performed at scheduledintervals. The scheduled intervals may be directly programmed into thetablet-charging station. Optionally, the scheduled intervals may bespecified to the tablet-charging station by the remote management systemor the remote management system may transmit a purge command and/or adefragmentation command to the tablet-charging station according to aninternal schedule and/or in response to a detected event. For example,the detected event may be the tablet-charging station available memoryfalling below a specified threshold, where the threshold may bespecified as an amount of memory or as a percentage of total memory.

The purge process may determine which content and/or content schedulesare no longer required. For example, if a content schedule only includesdates in the past, the schedule may be purged. By way of furtherexample, if content downloaded to the tablet-charging station is notincluded in any schedules with associated playback dates in the futureor at the current time, the content may be deleted to free up memory.The defragmentation may enable faster data accesses to be performed.Optionally, the purging and/or defragmentation processes are limited tosolid state non-volatile memory (e.g., a solid state drive).

FIG. 5A illustrates an example software architecture for the remotemanagement system. A web services API 506 is provided to interface withtablet-charging stations 502. The web services API 506 captures userdata, such as user survey responses, phone number(s), contact databaserecords, interactions with content, time spent viewing items of content,date/time content was viewed, images of the user captured usingtablet-charging station cameras, user voice captured using atablet-charging station microphone, other data described herein, and/orthe like. The web services API 506 may also poll tablet-chargingstations (e.g., to determine if they are active, the charge levels,other information discussed herein), receive responses to promotions,etc. The web services API 506 may communicate with a content engine 512,which provides content management and interacts with content servers(e.g., ad servers 522, film preview servers, film previews,entertainment, restaurant information, etc.).

The content servers store a content library and may serve content (e.g.,ads, film previews, entertainment, restaurant information, etc.),provide API connections to content, count the number of items of contentserved, select content (e.g., based on information provided by thecontent engine 512, by content providers, based on which content willresult in the most revenues for the system operator, the establishmentowners/operators, and/or the content providers, and/or otherparameters), monitor campaign progress, and/or generate reports. A givencontent server may be operated by the same entity that operates theremote management system or by a third party.

The content engine 512 may inspect or request inspection (using internaland/or external applications) of content to ensure it meets certainspecifications (e.g., does not include objectionable content, such asoffensive language, nudity, violence, graphic medical images, and/orother objectionable content; is at least a specified minimum time lengthand no greater than a maximum time length; is in one of authorized fileformats; has at least a specified minimum resolution and no greater thana maximum resolution; etc.). For example, the content engine 512 maytransmit content or links to content to a content review server 516,which may optionally be operated by a third party. The content reviewserver 516 may inspect image, video, text, and/or audio content forobjectionable content. An example content inspection process isdescribed with reference to FIG. 6.

The content engine 512 may communicate information related to anavailable impression and enable third parties to bid for suchimpression.

A web application module 508 provides interfaces, examples of which aredisclosed herein, to system administrators, content providers, brandowners/licensees, and location owners/operators. A technical support webservices API 510 provides user interfaces and web services to technicalsupport/sales personnel. For example, the web services API 510 enablessuch personnel to manage, via their devices 504, tablet-chargingstations and to add or delete locations authorized for the placement oftablet-charging stations. Such notifications may be provided via asupport application installed on support personnel devices.

A notification engine 514 may generate various notifications, such asuser notifications, content review notifications, push notifications,and the like, examples of which are disclosed elsewhere herein. Thenotification engine 514 may transmit notifications to user devices viathird party push notification services, third party text and/ormultimedia messaging services (e.g., an SMS/MMS messing service),cross-platform messaging services, and/or the like.

A database 518 may store content and/or links to content for serving tothe tablet-charging stations 502, may store device data (e.g., uniquetablet-charging station identifiers, tablet-charging stationconfigurations (e.g., screen size, battery size, electrical interfaces,model numbers, charge levels), status (e.g., online, offline, in need ofrepairs, in repair, repaired and awaiting shipment, current locations,designated locations, etc.) etc.), location data (e.g., locationaddress, number of tablet-charging stations at location, locationphysical layout, contact information for charge instructions,identifiers/contact information of support personnel designated forlocation, etc.) for multiple locations, and other data described herein(e.g., user profile data, content impression data, content viewing data,viewer emotion data, viewer interaction with content data, etc.). Thedatabase may be a relational database (e.g., an SQL database) or anon-relational database (nonSQL database). For example, a nonSQL (e.g.,Hadoop) database may be used rather than an SQL database as it betterscales out horizontally and so can handle large number of transactions(e.g., millions of transactions at a time). Further, a nonSQL databasemay be better utilized with unstructured and semi-structured data. Thusthe selection of the database technology may be based on the particularuse scenario (e.g., large number of simultaneous transactions v. largeamounts of unstructured and semi-structured data).

The system may determine and report, optionally in real time and subjectto specified filters, performance of stations (e.g., within a specifiedmanaged territory or territories and/or those not assigned to aterritory). For example, the system may determine and report (e.g.,within a specified managed territory or territories and/or for stationsnot assigned to a territory) on the total number of stations placed in amanaged territory, the total number of active stations (e.g., that areon and ready to display content), the total number of screen viewsand/or content impressions via the stations, the number of “inactive”devices and, where possible, the determined reasons for an inactivestatus (e.g., cannot be connected to via the network, insufficient poweravailable to fully power station, not at its designated location, etc.),device identifiers, the content sync status (e.g., synced, incomplete,not synced) of each station, station installation dates, a statisticalanalysis (e.g., an average or median analysis) of the runtime/uptime ofstations, and/or the like.

The system may determine and report, optionally in real time and subjectto specified filters, the geolocation of stations (e.g., as determinedfrom GPS information acquired by stations, using WiFi locationinformation, using cell tower triangulations, or otherwise). Forexample, a list of stations (optionally with respective stationidentifiers) may be listed in association with a corresponding physicaladdress. Optionally, the system may generate a list of locationaddresses (e.g., of approved locations within a specified territory orterritories) and provide the number of stations located at each address(and optionally the number of each type of station at each address,where there are multiple types of stations). Optionally, the report maybe limited to include only those locations to which the user hasauthorized administrative access. For example, a user may be authorizedto have access to station-related data in one or more specifiedterritories, but not other territories.

Optionally, a search engine may be provided that enables a user tosearch for locations by address, territory, zip code, establishmenttype, establishment/brand name, or otherwise. For example, a search userinterface user interface may be provided comprising a search fieldconfigured to receive a text query and/or search filters from which theuser may select. The query received via search user interface may beprocessed by the search engine to find matching locations. The searchengine may generate and provide for display a ranked search result list(e.g., ordered by relevance, alphabetically, etc.).

Optionally, a given search result list entry may comprise a link torelated data. For example, optionally, a user (e.g., a user thatservices or manages stations) may select (e.g., tap or click on) anentry for a listed station, and more detailed station information may beaccessed and presented (e.g., serial number, screen size, memory size,available memory, processor type, operation system version, app version,power bank battery size, current charge level of power bank, currentcharge level of battery configured to power station, etc.) and/or a mapof the station location may be generated and presented. By way offurther example, optionally, a user may select (e.g., tap or click on)an entry for a location, and more detailed station information may beaccessed and presented (e.g., the number of each type of station at thelocation, the respective serial numbers, screen size, memory size,available memory, processor type, operation system version, app version,power bank battery size, current charge level of power bank, currentcharge level of battery configured to power station, etc.). A map of thelocation and/or a graphic layout of the location (e.g., showing wheretables are location, the specific position of tablets at the location,etc.) may be rendered and presented. The system may determine andreport, optionally in real time and subject to specified filters, thegeolocation of users that service and/or manage stations (e.g., asreported by applications installed on their user devices (e.g., cellphones)).

The system may be configured to maintain records of wheretablet-charging stations are located (where a given tablet-chargingstation is identified by a unique identifier, and a location may beidentified by a unique identifier and/or physical address) andoptionally historical locations at corresponding time periods. Thesystem may be configured to provide interfaces that enable locations tobe identified and designated as a location eligible to havetablet-charging stations placed thereat. Optionally, such interfaces maybe provided via support applications installed on support personnel userdevices and/or via a web service accessible via browsers. A userinterface may be provided that enables a user to enter or update, for agiven location, a location name, operating days, operating hours,establishment type (e.g., restaurant, clothing store, jewelry store,retail store, gym, yoga studio, hotel, hospital, airport, doctor'soffice, lawyer's office, accountant's office, professional office,etc.), physical address, occupancy capacity, number of tables, number ofseating locations, customer demographics, square footage, owner/operatorcontact information, and/or other information. Optionally, a user mayneed to be granted authorization to authorize such locations and/or suchlocations need to be approved by an authorized user after being addedand prior to delivering of stations to the newly added locations.Optionally, certain commonly owned or franchised locations may have alltheir locations pre-approved as a group for having such tablet-chargingstations placed thereat.

A user interface may be provided via which an authorized user (e.g., anaccount manager) can specify how many stations are to be located at agiven location, how many of each model of station (e.g., where differentmodels may have different size displays and/or batteries) are to belocated at the given location, whether any stations are to be relocatedfrom one location to another location, and/or the like. Optionally, auser interface is provided via which an authorized user can turn on oroff the display of selected types of content (e.g., ads, offers, etc.)on specific stations and/or at specific locations.

A third party mobile management service 520 may optionally be utilizedto manage provisioning, securing and managing mobile devices (e.g., userdevices that have applications installed thereon), such as those ofsupport personnel (which may provide technical and/or sales support).For example, the mobile management service 520 may provide support forhardware (e.g., inventory, provisioning, repairs, etc.), software (e.g.,configuration management, software distribution and updates of thesupport application), security (e.g., blacklists, whitelists,encryption, antivirus protection, authentication, jailbreak/rooteddetection and notification, etc.), and/or network service management.

Optionally, an account may be created for a given location or set oflocations (e.g., with an associated user identifier and password). Thelocation owner/operator may use the account to specify and control localcontent (such as menus, special offers of the day, catalog of itemsavailable at the location, information of services offered at thelocation, monitor revenue generated via the stations at the location(s)(e.g., via content presentation on stations at the location), and thelike. The local content may optionally be uploaded by the locationowner/operator to the remote system via a location owner/operatordevice, and the remote system may then stream or download the localcontent over a network to the stations. The local content may bedisplayed on stations at the location at times specified by the locationowner/operator via a user interface and/or during time slots were othercontent with higher priority is not displayed. For example, the systemoperator may specify that certain content or content types (e.g., ads)have a higher priority than local content. Where there is a conflictbetween the timing for display of higher priority content with lowerpriority content, the higher priority content is displayed. Optionally,the local content may be displayed at the same time other contentprovided or selected by the system operator. For example, an ad selectedor facilitated by the system operator may be displayed at the same timeas local content using a split screen arrangement or using twophysically separate screens.

Optionally, to ensure that content submitted by a locationowner/operator (e.g., to be used as local content) does not includeinappropriate content, the system may utilize an internal image and/oraudio analysis engine or access a third party image and/or audioanalysis engine via an API, to request that the content be analyzed forone or more types of objectionable content, such as offensive language,nudity, violence, graphic medical images, and/or other objectionablecontent as similarly discussed elsewhere herein. If objectionablecontent is not identified, the location owner/operator content may beadded to the content library for later audio and/or video playback viatablet-charging stations.

Optionally, the system may monitor specific stations, stations atspecific locations/regions, or stations at all locations. A userinterface may be generated in real time showing the status of stations.By way of illustration, the system may determine and report whichstations are on or off, which stations are online/offline, why a givenstation is offline (e.g., cannot be accessed over a network), whatstations have been reported lost, what are the station charge levels,what stations are below a threshold charge level (e.g., below 15% chargelevel), which stations currently are connected to user devices, whatcontent is currently being displayed on a given station, and/or otherinformation. The system may determine and report support and inventoryrequests (e.g., from location operators), whether a new location hasbeen approved or rejected, daily performance information, and/or thelike. A filter interface may be provided that enables a user to specifywhich stations should be included in the generated status report. Forexample, the user may specify specific stations, locations, and/orregions, whose stations should be included in the generated statusreport. The user-specified filter may be applied and status report willinclude only those stations that satisfy the filter conditions.Optionally, a user interface may be provided that enables a user toinitiate a test routine for one or more selected stations or far allonline stations at a specified location.

Optionally, based on station status, notifications may be generated andtransmitted to the location (e.g., to the owner, waiters, informationtechnology persons, etc.) and/or to support personnel. For example,notifications may be generated and transmitted tin response to detectingthat a station battery level is below a specified threshold (so that thestation can be recharged). Optionally, a support application may bedownloaded to or otherwise installed on support personnel user devicesto receive such notifications and to enable other support functions tobe performed by such support personnel. Optionally, a given station mayinclude a visual indication of the battery charge. For example, a lowbattery charge indication may be provided (e.g., an illuminated redindicator light, blinking light, or other low battery indicator) by thestation itself.

Optionally, a user interface is provided by the support application viawhich a replacement device may be requested if a station ismalfunctioning (e.g., not powering on, broken display, not connecting tothe Internet, etc.). Delivery tracking may be performed by the systemand reported to a user via the support application, email, text message,and/or otherwise. For example, the system may track and report thenumber of stations ordered, timing requested for station fulfillment,proposed placement of stations, and/or the like.

Interfaces may be provided via which location owners/operators maycommunicate station-related issues (station replacement requests,technical support requests, requests for addition stations, and/or thelike). The communication may be reported to support personnel (e.g., viaa browser accessible site, via a support application installed onsupport personnel devices, or otherwise).

Optionally, a user interface may be provided via which a locationowner/operator or support personnel may upload or draw a graphic layoutof the location, including an indication as to the placement of tablesand other surfaces on which stations may be placed. A user may indicateon the graphic layout where a given station is to be placed. The systemmay detect if the stations are actually placed as indicated on thegraphic layout, and indicate via the graphic layout if they are or arenot so placed. The system may determine how many stations are active ata given time at the location, and cause the user interface to displayhow many stations are active at a given time at the location.Optionally, a user interface may be generated using information from thesystem that indicates the placement of stations at a given location, andthe user interface may be rendered and displayed on stations so thatconsumers or other users at the location can view where other stationsmay be found. Optionally, the user interface indicating the location ofstations at a given location may be displayed on stations at specifiedtimes, when other scheduled content is not being displayed, and/or inresponse to a user selecting a corresponding icon displayed on thestation touch screen display. Optionally, the user interface mayindicate which stations are currently being used to charge user devices,and which devices are currently not being used to charge user device.This enables users to identify where available stations are location sothat the user can charge her device. Optionally, the user interfaceindicating the location of stations at a given location (and optionallyan indication as to which stations are currently being utilized orunutilized to charge user devices) may be displayed via an applicationinstalled on a user device (e.g., a smart phone, tablet, etc.),optionally in response to determining that the user device is at thelocation.

Optionally, the support application may be used to detect if anystations are within a threshold distance of the support personnel userdevice, and if so, a notification may be provided to the support personvia the support application. For example, the notification may be in theform of a map showing the location of stations and their distance fromthe user device. Optionally, a list of locations may be generated andpresented. The list may be ordered (by default or in response to a userinstructions) by proximity, travel time to reach, alphabetically basedon location name, or otherwise. A given entry may include a locationname, a chain name, an address, and/or a distance from user. Optionally,a pop-up notification may be displayed on the user device textuallyindicating that a station is within a specified distance. Optionally,the support application may provide navigation, turn by turn, directions(e.g., textually, and/or graphically via a map) to a station selected bythe support person. The map and directional information may be generatedby a remote system and provided to the support application for display.Optionally, the tablet-charging station access application may provide auser interface via which the user can specify a travel mode (e.g., car,bike, foot, public transportation) and the distance and/or travel timedetermination will be based on the specified travel mode. Optionally,the support application may estimate the user's current travel mode(e.g., by detecting the user's movement speed) and use the estimatedtravel mode to generating distance and travel time estimates.

An electronic signature service 524 may be utilized in having anelectronic agreement executed (e.g., an agreement regarding contentplacement, an agreement via which a user provides consent for the use ofuser-related images, facial recognition models, names, contactinformation, and the like. The electronic signature service may encryptsignatures and documents (e.g., agreements), then apply a hash to revealwhether the document has been tampered with or compromised.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example embodiment of a multi-tier softwarearchitecture. The bottom tier may include a backend data sources tiercomprising a database storing data as similarly disclosed elsewhereherein (e.g., user profiles, user inferred preferences, user likes ofcontent, user dislikes of content, user interaction histories, userfacial recognition data, content provider data, and/or other datadisclosed herein). A data access tier comprises data access objects thatprovide an abstract interface to backend data sources by mappingapplication calls to the backend data source tier without exposingdetails of the backend data sources (e.g., the database).

A middle tier provides session handling, authentication, and/orauthorization. For example, a session handler may link authenticationand access control/authorization modules. A session identifier may becreated and transmitted to a user device or station, which may store thesession ID. The user device or station (e.g., via a browser) may includethe session ID in each HTTP request in order to keep the authenticatedstate and track the users progress within a web application. The middletier may also comprise business rules that describe operations,definitions and/or constraints. The middle tier may include a contentserver engine, such as that described elsewhere herein. The middle tiermay include web services (e.g., REST (Representational State Transfer)web services).

A presentation tier may include a NOC web administration interface, acontent provider web interface, a location owner/operator web interface,as similarly described elsewhere herein.

As noted above, various types of content may be transmitted to thetablet-charging station. Optionally, certain content may be downloadedover a network from a remote system, such as that illustrated in FIGS.5A-5B, to the tablet-charging station and stored in local memory forlater playback to users. Optionally, the download may be performed via apower bank station (see, e.g., FIG. 1E), discussed elsewhere herein,configured to power and charge one or more tablet-charging stations at atime (e.g., when not in use by users). The power bank station may,wirelessly or via a wired connection to a network, download content fromthe remote system.

Optionally, the content download may be performed in batch mode (wheremultiple items of content may be downloaded at a time) and scheduled tooccur at a time when the establishment (e.g., restaurant) at which thetablet-charging station is located is closed to customers, therebyreducing network bandwidth usage by the tablet-charging station 200during peak WiFi usage times at the establishment. Optionally, suchdownload processes may be scheduled to occur periodically (e.g., everynight, once week, etc.). Optionally, the download may be performed whena given tablet-charging station is being charged via the power bankstation. Optionally, the scheduling may be performed via the remotemanagement system. Optionally, the schedule may be provided to thetablet-charging station by the remote management system. Optionally,content download may be performed via a wired or wireless (e.g.,Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.) connection to a local portable device, such asthat of a tablet-charging station service person. Optionally, certaincontent may be downloaded and/or streamed in real time to thetablet-charging station 200 by and/or under the control of the remotemanagement system. Optionally, certain content may be downloaded and/orstreamed in real time to the tablet-charging station 200 in response toa request from the tablet-charging station 200. Optionally, the remotemanagement system may grant permissions to third party content providersto provide content to one or more tablet-charging stations, as will bedescribed in greater detail herein.

As noted above, content may be downloaded or streamed to atablet-charging station 200. Optionally, in exchange for performingcertain actions or for certain information, a user of thetablet-charging station 200 may be provided with devices and/or content.For example, if content is provided for display to a tablet-chargingstation 200 while a user is charging a user device, the user may beasked to provide feedback regarding the content or personal information.In response to receiving the feedback or personal information, the usermay be provided with a device (e.g., a phone or tablet-charging station)which will become a user device and/or content (e.g., a ticket to anevent or a coupon). Optionally, in response to receiving the feedback orpersonal information, the user may specify (e.g., via a user interface)one or more recipients of to be provided with a device (e.g., a phone ortablet-charging station) and/or content.

By way of further example, the tablet-charging station 200 may beconfigured to provide different speeds of charge using different chargecurrents (e.g., 0.5 amp, 1 amp, 1.6 amps). Optionally, in exchange forperforming certain actions or for certain information, a user of thetablet-charging station may be provided with a relatively faster chargeusing a higher charge current (e.g., 2 amps rather than 1 amp or 0.5amp).

By way of further example, the user may be asked to enter userinformation (such as a phone number), and in exchange, content (e.g., acoupon) may be transmitted to the user number. The coupon may be in theform of a QR or other visual code that encodes a coupon identifier,expiration date, applicability, and/or value, and that may be read via acamera or other device (e.g., a laser barcode scanner) in order toapply/redeem the coupon. The phone number may be transmitted by thetablet-charging station to the remote management system. The QR code maybe generated by the remote management system or other server andtransmitted to the user-entered phone number as an SMS/MMS short messageor using other messaging protocol. Optionally, upon confirmedtransmission of the QR code to the phone number, a confirmationnotification may be transmitted to and displayed by the tablet-chargingstation to the user. The use/reading of a QR code may be tracked by anentity, such as a digital agency, to evaluate the effectiveness of acorresponding campaign. Optionally, a QR code reader (e.g., a networkedcamera) may be provided by the system operator. Optionally, a given QRcode reader may be assigned to the specific location. The system maytrack and manage the placement of QR code readers. Data scanned by theQR code reader may be automatically synchronized automatically to theremote database (e.g., hosted by the cloud-based system).

Optionally, the station camera may be used to read QR or other opticalcodes in the user's environment. For example, QR codes may be posted ina museum in association with an exhibit. A rear-facing camera of thestation may capture the QR code, decode the encoded information (e.g., aURL or other link), and use the encoded information (e.g., URL or otherlink) to access the corresponding data. The corresponding data may thenbe presented on the station display. The station may automatically flipfrom the front facing camera to the rear facing camera based on adetected geo-location of the tablet. For example, if the tablet isdetected to be in a location where there are known posted QR codes, thestation may be commanded by a remote system to use the rear facingcamera so as to automatically detect and capture QR codes in the view ofthe rear facing camera. Optionally, a control may be provided (e.g., anon-screen touch control or a physical button) that enables a user tocommand whether the front camera or rear camera is to be used to captureimages.

Optionally, the content may be requested or accessed and then playedback by the tablet-charging station 200 according to a playback schedulethat specifies respective playback times and/or frequencies. Optionally,the playback schedule may be transmitted to the tablet-charging stationby the remote management system. The playback schedule may have beendefined by a content provider or other entity as similarly discussedbelow. Optionally, the content may provide real time interactivity tothe user (e.g., via embedded links or hot spots). For example, the usermay touch an item of content being displayed, and in response, different(but optionally related) content may be displayed. For example, if thecontent relates to a product or service, in response to the usertouching the content (which may include an embedded link) additionalinformation (e.g., information accessed by activation of the link,information provided via a tooltip-type interface, or otherwise)regarding the content or service may be displayed. Optionally, thecontent may be targeted to the user based at least in part on the user'sprofile, the location of the tablet-charging station, the time of day,the current charge level of the user's device, and/or based on otheruser or tablet-charging station described herein.

Optionally, as similarly discussed above, a control may be presented inassociation with an item of content or certain types of content (e.g.,advertisements) via which the user can provide a negative (e.g.,dislike) indication regarding the content. Optionally, a user like ordislike of content may be inferred from detected human emotions (e.g.,as determined from facial expressions, vocal expressions, and/or viapupil dilation and gaze direction, as discussed elsewhere herein), suchas joy, happiness, laughter (which may be classified as a like) oranger, hate, contempt (which may be classified as a dislike). Forexample, by tracking a user gaze, the user's gaze may be mapped tocontent displayed on a station. The determination as to what the user islooking at, combined with the user's facial and vocal expressions, maybe used to determine user interest in and feelings regarding the subjectof the user's gaze.

In response to detecting user dislike of an item of content, thetablet-charging station may inhibit the re-presentation of thecorresponding content and/or presentation of similar content. Forexample, the tablet-charging station may prevent the presentation (e.g.,display/playback) of the corresponding content to the user without atime limit, or for a specified period of time (e.g., one hour) afterwhich the content may be presented again. In response to detecting userliking an item of content, the same or similar content may be presentedto the user with greater frequency (e.g., every time the user accesses astation, every other time the user accesses a station, etc.).

Optionally, a user interface control may be provided (e.g., a softcontrol displayed on the touch screen or a physical control) via whichan end user (using the tablet-charging station to charge a user device)may command the device to enter a ‘do not disturb’ mode which may setthe device display to a display off or low brightness ‘ambient’ lightmode, turn off video content playback (e.g., for a set period of time oruntil another user device is connected to the tablet-charging station)and mute sound (if any sound is being generated), or cause a still,static image and/or text to be displayed.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example user detection process. At the beginningof the process a station may have its display turned off or dimmed toset threshold. At block 702, the process detects whether a user deviceis connected to a given station and/or whether a user is looking at thestation (e.g., using the station camera as discussed above). At block704, in response to detecting that a user device is connected to thestation and/or a user is viewing the station, the display may be enabledand the brightness set to a certain level (e.g., between 50-100% ofbrightness range) to make content displayed by the display easilyvisible to the user. Optionally, user data is transmitted to the remotemanagement system (e.g., images of the user face, a model of the userface, user login information provided by the user, etc.). At block 706,via the camera and/or station touch display, the process monitors theuser to ensure the user is still present and optionally ensuring theuser is viewing the display. For example, the process may monitor theuser's eye movements or face to determine if the user's is present andlooking at the display. By way of further example the process maymonitor user touch inputs on the station's touch display to determinethat the user is present and interacting with the content. If the userpresence and/or attention to device content is not detected for athreshold period of time (e.g., 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 120seconds, etc.), the station display may be commanded to enter a lowpower consumption mode and/or mute the speaker. For example, at block708, the station may be commanded to turn off the display or lower thedisplay brightness to a certain level (e.g., 0-25% of maximum displaybrightness) in order to conserve power. The process may then repeat.Optionally, if the user's presence and/or motion is not detected for aconfigurable period of time (e.g., 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, orother time period), the content being played by the tablet-chargingstation will be paused and/or terminated.

The tablet-charging station camera 206 may continue to monitor its fieldof view to detect the presence and/or motion of the user. If the userpresence and/or motion is detected, the playback of the content may becontinued from the point it was paused, the content restarted, or newselected content may be selected to be played. If new content is played,the new content may optionally be selected according to a pre-specifiedcontent schedule. As similarly noted elsewhere herein, the schedule mayoptionally specify specific items of content to be played at specifictimes or may optionally specify specific types of content (e.g., a videoclip, weather, an advertisement, etc.) to be played at specific times.

The device management program may cause the tablet-charging stationcamera 206 to capture one or more images at a pre-determined interval(e.g., every 5 second, every 10 seconds, every 15 second) in order todetect a user's presence and/or motion, while conserving power andmemory utilization by not continuously capturing images at 30 or 60frames per second. Optionally, the motion detection is used forconfirmation that a user is continuing to use the tablet and has notleft (rather than being used for initial user identification).Optionally, a kinesthetic analysis is performed to aid in determininguser behavior characteristics to provide more in-depth motion detection.Each image may optionally be timestamped so as to preserve the imagesequence and timing. Optionally, the captured images may be periodicallydeleted (e.g., every 10 seconds, every 30 seconds, every 60 seconds;once certain image analysis has been performed; and/or when a user'slack of presence (e.g., the user has left the station) is detected) toreduce memory utilization and preserve privacy and security. Optionally,the tablet-charging station 200 will not transmit such images to theremote management system to preserve security and user privacy.Optionally, the tablet-charging station 200 will transmit such images tothe remote management system or other system hosting an image analysisprogram for authentication and/or emotion analysis as described below.

As noted above, the images may be analyzed via a local analysis programand/or via a remote system hosting an image analysis program. Theanalysis may include detection of a user's emotion (e.g., neutral,happiness, joy, sadness, surprise, laughter, anger, fear, disgust,contempt, etc.). For example, the analysis program may, in real time,track a user's face and facial expressions from frame to frame (e.g., inaccordance with the image timestamps). By way of illustration, emotiondetection may include performing face and facial component detection,facial feature extraction, and expression classification. A face imagemay be detected in a frame and facial components (e.g., eyes, nose,mouth, forehead, cheeks, etc.) may be detected. Spatial and temporalfeatures may be extracted from the facial components. Pre-trained facialexpression classifiers may be utilized to generate emotion recognitionresults using the extracted spatial and temporal features. By wayexample, a pre-trained facial expression classifier may utilize asupport vector machine (SVM), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), RandomForest and/or Gradient Tree Boosting algorithms.

If a remote image analysis system is utilized, the image analysis systemmay be configured to automatically delete the images upon determiningthe presence of a user's face and/or emotion to reduce memoryutilization and preserve privacy and security. Optionally, the imagesare transmitted to a remote system for analysis in a batch mode, withmultiple images transmitted at the same time.

The device management program may cause the tablet-charging station tocapture a user's voice input via the microphone 204. Optionally, thecaptured voice input may be periodically deleted (e.g., every 10seconds, every 30 seconds, every 60 seconds; and/or or once certainvoice analysis has been performed) to reduce memory utilization and topreserve user security and privacy. Optionally, the tablet-chargingstation will not transmit such voice input to the remote managementsystem to preserve security and privacy and to reduce network bandwidthutilization. The voice input may be digitized and analyzed via a localanalysis program (which may be a module included in the devicemanagement program) and/or via a remote analysis system hosting an imageand voice analysis program. The voice analysis may include determinationof a user's emotion/sentiment based on the speech content (e.g.,determined using a natural language processing engine, by identifyingkeywords, or the like), and/or voice characteristics, such as pitch,timbre, loudness, and/or vocal tone. The determined user emotion (e.g.,neutral, happiness, joy, sadness, surprise, laughter, anger, fear,disgust, contempt, etc.) may be classified as a like or dislike ofcontent. Finer classifications may be used, such a mild like, like,strong like, mild dislike, dislike, or strong dislike. Optionally, imageand voice analysis may be performed by providing the images and voicefiles to a cloud based system (see, e.g., FIGS. 4, 5A, 5B), as similarlydiscussed above. The cloud based system may be configured to process andstore large amounts of structured data, unstructured data, and/orsemi-structured data. The data may relate to user data (including soundand/or video recordings, contact information, profiles, etc.) disclosedherein.

By way of illustration, a detected keyword (e.g., “vacation”) may beused to select and present content relevant to the keyword (e.g.,regarding luggage, travel locales, airlines, rental cars, etc.).

Additional description will now be provided regarding the provision ofcontent for distribution to distributed stations. Content providers maybe provided (e.g., by the remote management system or other system) withinterfaces (e.g., application programming interfaces (APIs)) that enablethem to have their content directed to appropriate users oftablet-charging stations by specifying desired target characteristics.For example, the content providers may specify desired demographics,user profiles, locations of tablet-charging stations, charge levels oftablet-charging stations, charge level of user devices connected totablet-charging stations, user emotions as detected via user images, eyetracking, and/or voice input, time of day, and/or other information.

Optionally, in order to have their content provided to users viatablet-charging stations, content users may need to establish anaccount. User interfaces may be provided that enables a content providerto establish such an account. For example, a content provider mayspecify a user identifier (which may be an email address) and apassword. An account, associated with the email address, may bedesignated as a master user/master administrator account. The masteruser may set up one or more sub accounts to provide certain other userswith access to certain functionality and/or content, but not otherfunctionality of content (where the master administrator may have fullaccess to functionality and/or the content provider's content). Forexample, if the content provider is an advertiser, sub-accounts may beset up for specific brands (and sub-brands, which may be specificproduct brands) and/or agencies.

As part of a registration/application process a content provider mayprovide contact information (e.g., business name, address, phone number,email address) and payment information, such as credit card informationor bank account information (e.g., to have their content displayed ontablet-charging stations). Optionally, certain information, such as thepayment information, may be stored on a separate, highly secure system,such as that of a third party payment processor platform, for complianceand security purposes.

Optionally, a user interface may be provided via which a contentprovider may specify one or more spend limits with respect to havingtheir content displayed on tablet-charging stations. For example, theuser interface may enable the content provider to specify spend limitsfor a given advertising campaign and/or for a given period of time(e.g., per day, per week, per month, or other time period), and/or mayspecify a CPI (Cost Per Impression) limit, a CPA (Cost-per-Action) limit(e.g., where the content provider pays for each specified action, suchas an application install, a form submittal, an opt-in, etc.), and/or aCPC (Cost-per-Click), for a given campaign. The system may enable theuser to modify the spend limits as desired (e.g., during a campaign orin the middle of a time period). The user interface may enable the userto specify a lifetime budget for the campaign.

Optionally, a given content provider request to provide content may gothrough an approval process. Optionally, if the content provider hasprovided the requisite information via the user interfaces (e.g.,content information, payment information, and/or spend limits), theapplication will be automatically approved by the system. Optionally, anapplication may be reviewed and electronically marked as suspended if adetermination is made that further review of the application is needed.For example, if the system determines that the content provider hasfailed to provide certain required information (e.g., an email address,payment information, etc.), or has provided incorrect information (e.g.,an invalid credit card number), then the application may be suspended.

Once the application is approved (e.g., manually or automatically), thesystem may generate a notification (e.g., an email, messaging service“text” message, webpage, and/or app notification) to an electronicaddress of the content provider confirming approval of the application.Optionally, an electronic agreement may be provided regarding contentplacement via a user interface which the content provider mayelectronically execute (e.g., utilizing a electronic signature processintegrated into the user interfaces and system).

If an application is not approved and is suspended, a notification maybe generated and provided to the content provider, wherein the generatednotification may indicate why the application is not approved orsuspended. For example, the notification may indicate that the contentprovider failed to provide a needed item of data or provided datadetermined to be erroneous. A link to a user interface may be provided(e.g., via email or text message) via which the content provider canprovide missing data or correct erroneous data. Optionally, a contactinterface (e.g., an online chat interface, a VoIP call interface, etc.)may be provided to enable the content provider to interact with aservice personnel to resolve outstanding application issues. Once thecontent provider has provided or corrected needed information, thecontent provider application may be approved and the accountun-suspended.

As noted above, an account, associated with the email address, may bedesignated as a master user/master administrator account. The masteruser/master administrator account may be associated with a contentprovider. Optionally, the content provider may provide (or haveprovided) advertising content (e.g., graphics, photographs, videos,audio, text, coupon, and/or other content) for a brand controlled by thecontent provider. Optionally, the content provider may be acting onbehalf of an entity that has a brand (e.g., a brand for clothing, food,entertainment, vehicles, electronic devices, housewares, etc.). Themaster user may set up one or more sub-accounts to provide certain otherusers with access to certain functionality and/or content, but not otherfunctionality of content. For example, if master user is at a companythat controls a given brand, the master user may create additional userswith different levels of assigned functionality, such as campaignmanagement, content management, financial management, and/orreporting/analytics generation.

By way of further example, a content provider that has a brand (or isacting on behalf of such an entity), may create an account for a“digital ad agency” entity to enable the entity to manage content andcampaign on behalf of the brand. The digital agency may also be enabledto create an account for a “brand entity” (e.g., a company with one ormore brands) to manage associated content and ad campaigns. Optionally,the brand entity may be enabled to create multiple sub-user accounts andassociate such accounts with respective specific brand(s) of the brandentity. Optionally, an interface may be provided that enables a brandentity to designate a master account which may share management ofcampaigns and content across multiple brands.

A digital agency acting on behalf of the brand entity may optionally beenabled to create multiple sub-user accounts and associate such accountswith respective specific brands of the brand entity, to thereby providesegmented accounts. A digital agency may optionally be enabled tospecify a master account to share management of campaigns and contentacross multiple brands with personnel at the digital agency (who may bemanaging campaigns and content for multiple brands) and/or with brandentity personnel. Thus, such segmented accounts may be shared with thebrand entity personnel (with different levels of assigned functionality)so that the brand entity is able to monitor campaign activity in real ornear real time (e.g., between about 0.01 second-15 minutes delay) alongwith the digital agency, providing a high level of transparency andvisibility. By way of further example, a master user/super administratorat a digital agency may be enabled to create additional user sub-accountwith different levels of assigned functionality, such as ad campaignmanagement (e.g., creation and editing of campaigns), content management(e.g., upload and deletion of content), financial management (e.g.,financial history, payment preferences, etc.) and ad spend management,and reporting/analytics. As discussed elsewhere herein, a digital agencymay upload content to a library associated with an account (e.g., abrand account). Optionally, the brands may be inhibited from deletingcontent uploaded by the digital agency. If the digital agency is removedfrom the content, optionally, the content uploaded by the digital agencywill not appear in the account library.

Optionally, the system may enable a content provider to bid in an adplacement auction. For example, an auction may be conducted that is usedto determine what content is provided for display/reproduction on whichtablet-charging station or set of tablet-charging stations. An adauction engine may determine which content is displayed on whichtablet-charging station or set of tablet-charging stations. Thedetermination may be based on several factors including bid amount,content provider target specifications, estimated action rates (anestimate of how likely a given consumer of the content is likely to takea desired act (e.g., click on a link), and/or content relevancy to acontent consumer.

For example, a content provider (or an entity acting on its behalf, suchas a digital agency) may bid on tablet-charging station time slots forplacement of content (e.g., advertising). By way of example, a userinterface may be provided via which a content provider may specify someor all of the following with respect to desired content targeting:

-   -   timing information with respect to desired placement slots        (e.g., day of the week/month/year, weekday/weekend, holiday(s),        non-holidays, time of day (e.g., specific hours, range of hours,        prime time/non-prime time, etc.);    -   tablet-charging station location (e.g., address, block, zip        code, etc.);    -   number of tablet-charging stations available to receive content        at the specified tablet-charging station location;    -   type of business at which tablet-charging station is located        (e.g., restaurant, hospital, clothing store, airport, hotel,        doctor's office, etc.);    -   tablet-charging station user demographics (e.g., age, gender,        income, residential address, congressional district, profession,        etc.);    -   content frequency (the number of times a given item of content        is to be displayed to a user);    -   content placement time available based on content run time;    -   spend limit (for the campaign);    -   CPI limit (for the campaign);    -   CPA limit (for the campaign);    -   user's historical emotional response to content of a similar        type; and/or    -   other bid parameters.

Optionally, the system may enable the user to specify a differentsubsets of the foregoing criteria for different types of campaigns. Forexample, the system may enable the user to specify run time windows fora first type of campaign, and not permit the user to specify run timewindows for a second type of campaign.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for selecting and renderingcontent. At block 802, the process detects when a user device (e.g., aphone or tablet) is connected to a station (e.g., for charging). Atblock 804, the process anonymously identifies the user. Anonymousidentification, in this sense, does not mean identifying the user byname, contact information, or the like. Rather, anonymous identificationin this context means using biometrics of the user (e.g., an image ofthe user as similarly discussed elsewhere herein, a voice print, afingerprint, an eye print, or the like) to identify a record associatedwith the user without personally identifying the user. However,optionally a user may be personally identified (e.g., by receiving anemail address and/or name of the user).

At block 806, the anonymous identification of the user is utilized toaccess an associated record or records, which may include profileinformation associated with the anonymous user. The profile informationmay include, by way of example, historical content likes, dislikes,emotions, content interactions, locations at which the user accessedstations, inferred demographics of the user (as similarly discussedelsewhere herein) and/or the like. At block 808, location data isdetermined. For example, location data may be received from the station(e.g., GPS, Wi-Fi, or other location). In addition or instead, thelocation may be determined using a station identifier received over anetwork at the system from a station, wherein the station identifier isused to access location information stored in association with thenetwork identifier (e.g., where the location information may correspondto a location designated for placement of the station, which may or maynot be the actual location of the station).

At block 810, the viewer criteria specified by one or more contentproviders is accessed from a data store. For example, the criteria mayinclude demographics (e.g., age, gender, etc.), historical userinteractions with content, user content preferences (e.g., as determinedfrom user provided likes, dislikes, evidenced emotions, eye tracking,and/or the like), locations of tablet-charging stations, charge levelsof tablet-charging stations, charge level of user devices connected totablet-charging stations, user emotions as detected via user images, eyetracking, and/or voice input, time of day, and/or other information

At block 812, the user profile information is compared to the criteriaspecified by the content providers to determine a match (e.g., a closestmatch). If there is a match, the content specified by the contentprovider whose criteria matches the user is selected.

At block 814, the selected content is streamed to the tablet for displayto the user. Optionally, if the content has previously been downloadedto the station, a command is transmitted from the system to the stationto play the content.

At block 816, images and/or voice recordings of the user are receivedwhile the content is displayed. For example still or video images of theuser may be captured by the tablet computer and the images (or facialfeature data derived from the images) streamed over the network to theremote system for analysis. In addition, or instead, voice input fromthe user may be captured by the tablet microphone and transmitted to thesystem. Optionally, manual like or dislike indications provided by theuser (e.g., by activating a like or dislike control displayed inassociation with the content) may be received by the system from thetablet.

At block 818, the user response to the content is determined in realtime or at a later time. For example, as discussed elsewhere herein, theuser emotional response and interest in the content may be determined byanalyzing the images of the user captured while viewing the content,tracking of the user's pupils, user voice input, and/or user activationof like/dislike controls. At block 820, the user response is utilized toupdate the user profile to further refine the user content preferences,and the update is stored in the corresponding user record.

As noted above, optionally, an auction may be conducted via whichcontent providers may bid to have their content displayed on terminals(where a given display opportunity may be referred to an impression).One or more algorithms may be utilized to achieve a combination ofoptimized auction bid revenue and optimized possible placement ofcontent. Optionally, the highest bidder for given impression will beawarded the impression. A content provider may provide compensation toprovide compensation for awarded impressions using a financialinstrument provided by the content provider or using credited amountsfrom previous campaigns (e.g., where all specified ad spend was notachieved in previous campaign).

Optionally, the system may detect if a tablet-charging station on whichan item of content was to displayed was unable to display the content(e.g., because the tablet-charging station was discharged, was set to ado not disturb mode, was inaccessible via WiFi, was broken, etc.). Thesystem may provide a corresponding credit to the winning bidder whosecontent was to be displayed on the unavailable tablet-charging station.Such credits may be tracked and reported to the content provider/digitalagency, and optionally may be used for future bids.

As discussed above, a content provider may be able to add content to acontent library/database in association with the content provider'saccount. User interfaces may be provided via which the content providermay edit, update, and/or remove digital content from the content.Examples of digital content may include digital photographs (e.g., inone or more of the following formats: JPEG, TIFF, RAW, PNG, etc.),graphics (e.g., in one or more of the following formats: TIFF, JPEG,GIF, PNG, RAW, etc.), video (e.g., in one or more of the followingformats: MPEG/MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV, WMV, etc.), and audio content (e.g.,MP3, Advanced Audio Coding, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, etc.). Thus, contentproviders are provided interfaces and tools that enable them to createand curate a library of content on stored in a content database (whichmay include links to separately stored files).

A content provider may optionally add metadata to be associated with anitem of content, such as a title, length, actors, date, subject matter,and the like. The content provider may also specify a campaign thecontent is to be used for. Such metadata and campaign association may bestored in association with the content. If the content provider is an adagency, optionally, when the agency is removed from an associated brandaccount, the content uploaded by the ad agency will no longer beincluded in, and will be disassociated from the brand content library.

Optionally, as discussed elsewhere herein with reference to FIG. 6, toensure that content submitted by a content provider does not includeinappropriate content, the system may utilize an internal video analysisengine or access a third party image analysis engine (e.g., GOOGLESAFESEARCH detection system, MICROSOFT content moderator, or othersystems) via an API, to request that the content be analyzed for one ormore types of objectionable content, such as offensive language, nudity,violence, graphic medical images, and/or other objectionable content. Ifobjectionable content is not identified, the content may be added to thecontent library for later display via tablet-charging stations.

Optionally, prior to such objectionable content analysis, the content istentatively added to the content library, with a distribution indicationindicating that the content is not to be distributed for display ontablet-charging stations, pending such analysis. Once the analysis hasbeen performed, a determination is made as to whether objection contenthas been identified. If objectionable content is not identified, thedistribution indication may be changed to one that indicates that thecontent may distributed for display on tablet-charging stations.Optionally, if objectionable content is identified, the distributionindication may be changed to one that indicates that the content doescontain objectionable content and is not to be distributed or thecontent may be deleted from the library. Optionally, if objectionablecontent is identified, a corresponding notification may be generateddescribing the type of objectionable content that was identified (e.g.,offensive language, nudity, violence, and/or graphic medical images) andindicating the content is not eligible for display on thetablet-charging stations. The notification may then be transmitted tothe content provider (or digital agency) at the designated electronicaddress (e.g., email, text message, and/or other address).

Optionally, prior to rejecting content that has been identified asincluding objectionable content, a notification may be transmitted to anadministrator of the system to further review the content, and approveor disapprove the content for distribution for display ontablet-charging stations. Optionally, the administrator may suspend thecontent provider's account for policy violation in response todetermining that the content includes objectionable content.

Optionally, the objectionable content analysis process may be initiatedsubstantially immediately upon receiving the content from the contentprovider at the content library. Optionally, instead, the objectionablecontent analysis process can be performed at a later time, according toa schedule. For example, the analysis can be scheduled to be performedduring a time period when the system and/or network resources are notbeing highly utilized for other purposes (e.g., between 2 AM-4 AM orother time period) to thereby reduce peaking system and/or networkloading and enhance their performance.

Once content has been approved, it may then be utilized for display ontablet-charging stations. For example, if a content provider wins a bidin an auction to place content on one or more tablet-charging stations,the approved content may be accessed from the content provider's contentlibrary and transmitted to appropriate tablet-charging stations. Thesame item of content may optionally be played on multipletablet-charging stations at the same time or at different times. Thetiming of the display of content may be that specified by the contentprovider (e.g., by the content provider whose bid won an impressionauction, as similarly discussed elsewhere herein) and/or may beintermittently displayed during time periods when other content is notscheduled for display.

Optionally, if an item of content is scheduled to be displayed at aspecific time, the system may enable the content provider to replace theitem of content with a different item of content. Optionally, the systeminhibits such replacement within a certain time period/window prior tothe scheduled content distribution and/or display.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example content inspection process. At block 602,content is received (e.g., from an advertiser, a location operator, orother source). At block 604, the process generates a content inspectionrequest. The request format and destination may be selected based on thecontent type. For example, different inspection engines may optionallybe used for text, video, and/or audio content. A given inspection enginemay need to have requests formatted in accordance with anengine-specific API. A given inspection engine may optionally beoperated by a third party entity. At block 606, the inspection resultsmay be received. The inspection results may indicate whether the contentcontains objectionable material and if so, optionally the type ofobjectionable material (e.g., violent, sexual, etc.), and the degree towhich the content is objectionable for each objection type. For example,the inspection results may indicate, on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 isthe most objectionable), how violent and/or sexual the content is.

At block 608, content rules are accessed from a rules data store and adetermination is made using the content inspection results as to whetherthe content violates one or more rules. For example, a rule for sexualcontent may indicate that any content that has a sexual rating ofgreater than 4 is a rule violation, while a rule for violent mayindicate that any content that has a violence rating of greater than 6is a rule violation. In one or more rules are violated, then at block610, a do not distribute indication may be stored in association withthe content, and a notification may be generated and electronicallytransmitted to the provider of the content indicating that the contentwill not be distributed and indicating why (e.g., for sexual content,for violent content, etc.).

If the content does not violate any rules, at block 612, the content isenabled for distribution to stations. For example, an indication may bestored in association with the content indicating that the content isapproved for distribution. The content may then be distributed toappropriate stations (e.g., stations that satisfy criteria specified bythe content provider, such as location, location type, profile of userviewing station, etc.).

The system may optionally provide content management capabilities toenable a content provider (or someone acting on its behalf, such as adigital agency), to manage active campaigns. The system may provide userinterfaces that enable the content provider to select and view thecontent submitted/designated for campaigns, and view the status ofcontent (e.g., approved, disapproved, pending review, available fordistribution, etc.) as reported by the system.

The system may optionally provide user interfaces that enable thecontent provider to access and view some or all of the following currentcampaign status information generated by the system:

-   -   currently running content (e.g., ads) for the campaign;    -   total number of content impressions to date (e.g., content runs,        view impressions, and/or the like);    -   total campaign spend to date;    -   remaining campaign content impressions to be satisfied;    -   remaining campaign budget.

The system may optionally provide user interfaces that enable thecontent provider to dynamically modify certain aspects of a campaign.For example, the system may enable the content provider to:

-   -   increase or decrease the maximum campaign CPI and/or CPA;    -   increase or decrease the number of desired content impressions;    -   increase or decrease the remaining campaign budget (which may        then result in an increase or decrease in resulting content        impressions);    -   suspend the campaign (optionally, if a campaign is suspended a        credit may be provided to the content provider's account;        optionally a refund may be provided; optionally, neither a        credit nor a refund is provided for a suspended campaign);    -   remove content from an active campaign (which such removal may        be inhibited within a certain time period prior to a scheduled        content distribution and/or display);    -   substitute content in an active campaign (which such        substitution may be inhibited within a certain time period prior        to a scheduled content distribution and/or display).

Optionally, the system provides tools and user interfaces that enable acontent provider to calculate a campaigns return on investment (ROI)based on one or more criteria. For example, the ROI tool may determineand indicate the results of sniper targeting, where an item of contentis targeted to a specific user or tablet-charging station, at a specificlocation and a specific period of time (e.g., a tablet-charging stationin a bar at happy hour between 5 and 7 pm). The ROI tool may determineand indicate user responses to rewards and offers provided by or inassociation with the content. The ROI tool may determine and indicatethe count of content impressions and eye (e.g., retina) scans, andfacial expressions. Thus, the ROI tool may provide a very in-depthanalysis on the metrics of a campaign.

As noted elsewhere herein, the system may perform analysis on variousdetected and collected data, and may generate reports using suchanalysis, optionally in real time. The reports may be provided to thesystem operator, a location owner/operator, and/or a content provided.

The detected, collected, and/or reported data may be filtered via aprovided filter interface that enables a user to have filters applied tolimit the analysis and/or reports to specified range of times andspecified categories, and/or to exclude specified range of times andcategories. For example, the filters may filter by specified station(s),location(s), brands, name (or other identifier) of establishment, name(or other identifier) of establishment operator, name(or otheridentifier) of establishment owner, operating hours (e.g., a range ofhours or having a status of currently opened or currently closed),establishment type (e.g., restaurant, clothing store, jewelry store,retail store, gym, yoga studio, hotel, hospital, airport, doctor'soffice, lawyer's office, accountant's office, professional office,etc.), and/or the like. The user of such filters may reduce the amountof data that need to be processed (hence reducing server processorload), the amount of data being transmitted to a terminal for display(hence reducing network bandwidth utilization), and the amount of databeing displayed (hence conserving display area).

For example, for a given campaign (e.g., an ad campaign), the system maydetect and track, subject to specified filters, the number of associatedcontent plays, number of user devices (e.g., user phones) connected tothe tablet-charging stations during associated content plays, totalcampaign spend, the ratio of total campaign spend to contentviews/impressions (e.g., CPI), number of user interactions perinteraction type (e.g., number of number of free drink responses, surveyresponses, detected emotions (e.g., detected happy user voices (while aspecific item of content is playing, as determined using voice captureand analysis), detected happy facial impressions (while a specific itemof content is playing, as determined using facial impression capture andanalysis)), redemptions, and/or other data discussed herein. The systemmay optionally detect and track how many items of content were shown ateach location on tablet-charging stations (e.g., while connected to userdevices, such as for charging). The system may optionally rank locationsbased on how many items of content were shown (e.g., from highest tolowest or lowest to highest). The system may optionally rank CPIsachieved (e.g., from lowest to highest or highest to lowest) atlocations.

The system may determine and report, optionally in real time and subjectto specified filters, the placement of content on stations (e.g.,currently or over a specified range of time) in a selected territory(e.g., a geographical area, a set of commonly owner or operatedlocations, or other selected territory).

The system may determine and report, optionally in real time and subjectto specified filters, the revenue via the stations within a specifiedmanaged territory.

As noted above, optionally content may be provided by advertisers.Additional examples will now be provided with respect to ad campaign setup and management. A campaign dashboard may be generated and providedfor display. For example, the generated campaign dashboard may include acontrol enabling a user to create a new campaign.

In addition, the generated dashboard may include a table of futurecampaigns, current campaigns, and/or previously run campaigns. The tablemay include some or all of the following columns or row: Campaign name,Campaign Type, associated Brand, associated Sub-brand, Start date,Status, Current Spend, Budget, Number of Impressions, Number of MissedPlays.

Optionally, the campaigns and campaign data presented may be filteredbased on the user's authorization level. For example, for a userauthorized to access a master account, data for all campaigns may beprovided for display. By contrast, for Brand accounts, for users onlyauthorized to access sub-accounts, campaigns and related data associatedwith the master brand will be provided for display only if assigned tothe sub-account or only for the sub-brands assigned to the sub-account.

With respect to digital agencies, optionally users of sub-accounts willonly be provided with information on campaigns for the master account oronly assigned brands as set up in the account.

Optionally, the credits associated with an account, sub-account and/orbrand may be accessed and displayed.

For a given brand, campaigns and associated data for the brand may beprovided for display in the campaign management panel when set up by adigital agency.

Optionally, campaigns created by a given digital agency are included inthe presentation displayed to the associated brand, even if the digitalagency that created the campaign is no longer authorized to access theaccount. However, optionally, a given digital agency maintains controlover their own content libraries.

In response to a user activating the campaign creation control, a userinterface may be provided that enables the user to perform some or allof the following. The user may be enabled to define for the campaign abooking type such as:

Booked, wherein Booked time will be pre-paid. Booked time may bepre-sales (where certain slots are provided to preferred customers priorto making the slots available for purchase or bid to publicbidding/purchase), or last minute (e.g., within 24 hours or otherspecified time frame) depending on when the user sets up a campaign.

-   -   Bid ads, which may optionally be set up at any time and may        optionally be adjusted (e.g., on a day to day basis). A bid ad        booking may be used to secure slots in advance of the content        display date.    -   Intelligent ads, which may optionally be set up at any time and        may optionally be adjusted (e.g., on a day to day basis).        Optionally, an intelligent ad booking is not used to secure        slots in advance of the content display date.    -   Special event ads may be used for specific events that take        place over a limited defined window of time set or confirmed by        an authorized user (e.g., an NOC administrator). An advertiser        may select for a list of events to access eligible locations and        make a special event ad booking. Optionally, on electing to book        special event time, a search user interface may be provided        enabling the advertiser to for specific events and/or by        specifying a desired date range and geographical criteria (e.g.,        city, state, zip code, and/or the like). A special event listing        may include some or all of the following data: event name, start        time, end time, and/or price per specified time slot length. The        advertiser may select one or more listed special events to bid        for.

Once a particular booking type of campaign is selected, the user mayselect, via the user interface, a campaign type (e.g., an imagecampaign, a video campaign, etc.). For example, the user may select animage campaign (which optionally may include a single figure). A usermay select a video campaign, where a video campaigns includes videocontent. Optionally, the video content may include a series of staticimages. The user may add a survey to the different campaign types. Alink may be provided to a video guiding the user in slot length planningfor surveys.

A description of the booking and ad set ups pre-sales and last minuteads will now be provided. When a user activates a campaign creationcontrol, the system may detect whether the current sales period is in apre-sale period or a last minute booking period. A “book ad” space userinterface may be provided the current period.

If the system determines that the user is a digital agency user, theuser interface may enable the user to a optionally select an associatedbrand and/or sub-brand for which the campaign is to be created.Optionally, the user may skip the brand selection step. Optionally, thelist of campaigns from which the user can select is filtered to onlyinclude brands and sub-brands that the user is authorized to access.

If the user is a brand user, the user can specify, via a user interface(e.g., an interface that includes a list of digital agencies or textfields configured to receive a digital agency name, email, etc.), whichdigital agency is authorized to manage a campaign for the brand orsub-brand.

A user interface is provided via which the user can specify (e.g., viatext fields or via selection from a menu options) some or all thefollowing criteria:

-   -   Location details: including some are all of the following:        business category, business type, business sub-type (which may        be automatically selectively displayed upon selection of the        business type), district type, city, zip code, state;    -   Demographic details: including some are all of the following:        age, gender, income, education, gender, family status;    -   Run time windows;    -   Peak hours;    -   Prime time/Non-prime time;    -   By time slot (e.g., hour time slots, 30 minutes time slots, 15        minute time slots, etc.);    -   Slot length (e.g., in units of 15 seconds) (where the system        may, in response, display the lowest and highest floor price per        slot length for the specified campaign dates);    -   Start and end dates;    -   Minimum and maximum frequency of ad placement;    -   One or more exclusion options.

The user may specify that locations are to be excluded that have lessthan a specified ratio of the total number of slots that match the otherspecified criteria over the total number of possible slots over thelength of the campaign. The possible slots may consist of slots for alocation's opening hours (e.g., if a user wants to run ads from 10 to 11AM and the store opens at 10:30 AM, the number of potential slots wouldbe half the allotted slots for the hour).

The user may specify that locations are to be excluded that do not havebookings available for one or more specified.

After the criteria and exclusions are specified, the system may searchfor matching locations and generate search results which may bedisplayed via a user interface. The user interface may also displaysummary data including, for example, the number of matching locations,number of available devices at the matching locations, number of slotsrequested, and/or the number of available slots. The user interface mayenable the user to select locations from the matching locations, devicesat the matching locations, and slots from the available slots. Based onthe user selections, an estimated cost may be calculated, and theestimated cost may be provided for display. In addition, a bid userinterface may be provided enable the user to bid for placing content atthe selected locations. The user interface may enable the user tospecify the maximum the user is willing to bid for a time slot

The system may generate and display, in response to a user instruction,reports and analysis. For example, the report may include a priceanalysis for one or more time slots specified by the user and mayinclude updated estimated costs for displaying content for a giventimeslot. The update may be performed in real time and the update may bebased in part on current auction bids for the slot. The report may alsodisplay the name (or other identifier) and/or address for qualifyinglocations. The user may select one or more locations (e.g., viaassociated checkboxes), and in response a location profile or a linkthereto may be presented. The location profile may includelocation-related data, such location name, city, state, zip code,business type, number of devices, prime times (the time periods when thelocation tends to have the most customers), the demographic profile ofcustomers (e.g., average or median ages, income levels, educationlevels, gender composition), opening hours, closing hours, and/orpercentage of slots available (e.g., as a percentage of the maximumslots requested (for a corresponding date range) based on the specifiedfrequency range). Optionally, the foregoing may be presented via apop-up user interface. Optionally, the user may select a certain item ofinformation, and additional related information may be presented.

For example, in response to the user selecting the availability item, acalendar view may be generated and provided for display for selectedlocations. For example, the calendar view may include rows and columns.A given column may display a day in the specified date range, while agiven row may display the data of a selected location. Optionally, agiven row may be subdivided into selected windows of time in which torun an item of content. A given cell may whether the specified desiredfrequency range is met or not. For each specified location, theavailability percentage may be indicated. The user interface may enablethe user to select some or all of the locations and add to the locationsto a requested booking. The selected locations may booked for alleligible days within the specified campaign date range (optionally forthe maximum possible frequency). Optionally, the user interface mayenable the user to exclude specific days or adjust the frequency forspecific days. Optionally, for a given location booking, the devices atthe location will be set to the same content playback schedule.

The system may run a secondary availability check and confirm the finalnumber of views and locations booked, as well as the final cost. Some orall of the foregoing data may be displayed via a generated confirmationpage. Booking discounts may be provided for certain content providers orfor certain locations. The system may access discount specifications anddetermine if any discounts are applicable to the current booking. Ifthere are multiple applicable discounts, the system determines if theymay be applied cumulatively or if only one discount may be applied. Ifthere are multiple available discounts and a determination is made thatonly one discount may be applied, the system may determine which is thehighest value discount, and may apply such discount, and display suchdiscount. If there are multiple available discounts and a determinationis made that the discounts may be applied cumulatively, the system mayapply each of the discounts, and calculate and display the totaldiscount.

If the system detects a change in available slots, a correspondingavailability change notification may be generated and presented to theuser. A user interface may be provided that enables the user tore-specify the desired booking. A user interface may be provided viawhich a content provider may provide payment information for a booking.Once the user has entered in the booking specifications and paymentinformation, the user will be provided with user interfaces enable theuser to provide or select media for the campaign, and to launch thecampaign.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process involving administrator functions,broker functions, and content provider (e.g., advertiser) functions. Anadministrator may confirm a user (e.g., an advertiser or broker) toenable the user to utilize the system, initialize ad hours (where theadministrator defines content time slots for corresponding dates/times,but the time slots are not yet available for purchase), open ad hours,set ad unit prices, release ad hours (so that they are available forbooking or auction, or are reserved for later release), and setuplocations (causing a certain number of stations to be placed at a givenlocation). Different administrators may be authorized to perform certainof the foregoing functions, while not being authorized to performcertain other of the foregoing functions. For example an administratoragent may be authorized to setup locations and request from a differentadministrator that ad units be released. A broker and/or contentprovider may in turn request from the agent that ad units be released. Acentral monitor may be provided that displays in real time the currentstatus of stations at one or more locations (e.g., out of service, inservice, needs charging, currently in use etc.).

A broker (who purchases time/slots (e.g., ad units) for resale), maypurchase ad units, pay for ad units, ad funds to the broker's accountfor purchases, and resell ad unit. A content provider (e.g., advertiser)may similarly purchase ad units, pay for ad units, ad funds to thecontent provider's account for purchases, and purchase ad units beingoffered for resell by a broker. The content provider may also create andupload content for distribution and display on stations, and may map thecontent to slots and/or locations.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example backend process flow which may beexecuted using a server (which may be in the form of a cloud baseddistributed system). The process may execute scheduling services,streaming services, recommendation services, and interrupt processing.For example, the schedule may input information regarding ad hours(e.g., which ad units have been released), locations (e.g., whichlocations have stations and the number of stations per location), andcampaign mappings of content to time slots/locations. The schedulerdetermines which campaigns have content that need to be displayed on aparticular ad hour at particular location. Based on the schedulerinputs, the scheduler determines an order of content presentation (acontent list), and provides the content list via a container componentto a transitional database. The transitional database provides thecontent in the designated order to the streaming component with aninstruction to stream the content accordingly to the designatedstations. The stations display the content, receive user input (e.g.,facial, eye, vocal, touch input), and transmit the inputs to theinterrupt service. User inputs may be stored in a data store (sometimesreferred to as a data lake). Example user inputs include user logininformation, user inputs to a game application, user selections of menuitems, user activations of links associated with content displayed onrespective stations, user gaze tracking, user facial features (e.g.,used to recognize the user and to determine user emotions), and thelike. The transitional database and data lake may be periodicallysynchronized. The foregoing user inputs may be received by therecommendation service.

The recommendation service may use the inputs to determine whether thecontent list should be re-ordered. If the recommendation servicedetermines the content list should be re-ordered, the recommendationservice may reorder the content list, and provide the content list via acontainer to the transitional database. The transitional databaseprovides the content in the designated order specified by the reorderedcontent list to the streaming component with an instruction to streamthe content accordingly to the designated stations.

As discussed above, a user may specify bids for placing content.Optionally, if there is a floor price set (e.g., for a given slot), theuser may specify a bid as a percentage above the floor price.Optionally, the user interface enables the user to specify bids onindividual locations, by location category, by business type, by pricetier (e.g., premium, mid, low), across all locations, across alllocations in specified territories, and/or the like.

The system may optionally determine and provide for display the highestbid percentage to indicate which location received the most number ofbids, the highest bid rate (e.g., the number of competing bids coming inper time period, such as per hour), and/or the highest bid amount,applicable to each location, location category, business type, pricetier, across all locations, and/or across all locations in specifiedterritories.

The system may provide a user interface that enable a user to modifybids for a future bid cycle. The modified bids may then be appliedfuture bid cycles.

Optionally, once a user has specified campaign criteria (e.g., timingand location related criteria), the content provider may set up theirmedia, complete payments as needed, and initiate the campaign. Forexample, for an image campaign, the user may upload images that satisfyspecified resolution criteria (e.g., maximum and minimum pixels forimage width and height) and format criteria (e.g., TIFF, JPEG, GIF, PNG,Raw, etc.). For a video campaign, the user may upload videos thatsatisfy specified ratio criteria (e.g., 4:3 ration, 16:9 ratio, or otherspecified ration), format criteria (e.g., MPEG/MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV, WMV,etc.), and/or length criteria (e.g., less or equal than the specifiedtime slot, or if a survey is to be provided after the video, at least aspecified amount of time (e.g., 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds,etc.) shorter than the specified time slot to enable sufficient time fora viewer to complete the survey). Optionally, if a survey is provided(for an image or video campaign), a control may be provided to viewersto enable them to skip the survey.

Optionally, a survey user interface is provided that enables a user tospecify a survey. Optionally, the user may be restricted to specifying asingle step survey. Optionally, the user may be enabled to specify amulti-step survey. The system may determine the availability of a singleor multi (e.g., two) step survey based at least in part on optionsselected when creating a new campaign and/or selecting a booking time.

For a given survey interface that will be presented to an end user, someor all of the following may be specified via the survey creation userinterface:

-   -   Title;    -   Questions (optionally, the user may be restricted to adding no        more than a threshold number of questions, such as 2, 3, 4, 5,        or 6 questions; optionally the threshold number of questions may        be dynamically determined based on the types of questions a user        is adding (e.g., multiple choice, single selection, etc.);        -   One or more question types (e.g., end user phone number,            email, short text, multiple choice question, single            selection question (e.g., a checkbox question), etc.);        -   Question text for a given question (optionally, a character            limit may be specified or determined for optimal screen            display and formatting and/or based on the total number            and/or type of survey questions being added);        -   How long the survey is to be displayed (e.g., optionally in            units of 15 seconds or other specified step size; optionally            with a minimum and with a maximum period of time).

Optionally, a game specification user interface may be provided thatenables a user to specify various game-related criteria. Optionally,only certain types of users (e.g., system administrators) may be enabledto access the game specification user interface. For a given gameinterface that will be presented to an end user, some or all of thefollowing may be specified via the game specification user interface:

-   -   The URL of the game (for a web-based game);    -   The maximum amount of time for which the browser can remain open        (e.g., specified in minutes and/or seconds);    -   Whether ads may override the browser-based game (whereupon, if        ads may not override the browser-based game, on close of the        browser, ads may resume);    -   an image (e.g., which the user may upload) for display to end        users, where a button to launch the game may be displayed in        association with the image, where the image and launch control        will be displayed at the appropriate slot times, and upon an end        user selection of the launch control, the system consider the        game's time slot to be over.

Media can be selected from an existing media library hosted by thecloud-based system and/or media may be uploaded directly. Optionally,the same item of content may be used for multiple campaigns. Asdiscussed herein with reference to FIG. 6, optionally to ensure thatcontent submitted by a content provider does not include inappropriatecontent, the system may utilize an internal video analysis engine oraccess a third party image analysis engine (e.g., detection system,MICROSOFT content moderator, or other systems) via an API, to requestthat the content be analyzed for one or more types of objectionablecontent, such as offensive language, nudity, violence, graphic medicalimages, and/or other objectionable content. If objectionable content isnot identified, the content may be added to the content library.

A campaign details user interface may be accessed by selecting amonglisted campaigns from the campaign management landing page. The campaigndetails user interface may be generated for the selected campaign thatprovides (e.g., for live and/or completed campaigns) campaign status(e.g., running, ended, suspended, paused), details and reports.Optionally, the campaign details user interface may enable a user toedit or suspend the campaign. Optionally, the campaign may beautomatically suspended if any content for the campaign has been flaggedas objectionable. Optionally, a system administrator may suspend acampaign by activating a suspend control. Optionally, if the systemdetermines there are insufficient funds for a given campaign, thecampaign may be automatically paused.

When an entity creates a campaign or purchases space on stations for thedisplay of content (e.g., an advertisement), the entity may specifydesired states, cities, location category, location sub-category, viewerdemographics (e.g., age ranges, ethnicity, gender, income range), viewerinterests (sports, cars, food, travel, clothing, makeup, jewelry, etc.),and/or the like. A user interface may be provided that enables theentity to specify a campaign start date, end date, slot (where a slotmay be a specified period during the day, and where each hour mayinclude a certain number of slots (e.g., where a slot may be 30 seconds,60 seconds 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.)),frequency, and content length (e.g., in minutes, seconds, etc.).

An interface may be provided that enables whether the content must beshown during the specified slot or whether the system may flexiblyadjust the timing of the content display (e.g., within a specifiedrange). For example, if the entity enables the content to be flexibleschedule control, the system may adjust the timing of the display ofcontent to better match the specified demographics. By way ofillustration, if the system detects that a viewer whose record indicatesis interested in cars is viewing the tablet, car-related content that isscheduled to be shown in 30 minutes may be rescheduled to be shownimmediately to ensure that the current viewer views the car-relatedcontent.

A user interface may be provided that enables the entity to specifydifferent qualities of screen/page space for the display of content. Forexample, there may be 2, 3, 4, or more designated different designations(e.g., standard, default premium, custom premium) corresponding to acorresponding space or space quality. For example, a display or pagearea may be conceptually divided into a central area, a left area, aright area, a top area, and a bottom area, with different costsassociated with different areas (e.g., based on the prominence of thearea. A user interface may be provided that enables an entity to assigna label to a given purchase.

A user interface may be provided that enables the entity to map contentprovided by (e.g., created by or for) the entity to various purchasedtimes and/or locations (referred to as slots herein). The system maydetermine which slots do and/or do not have content mapped thereto andcalculate and render a percentage of slots that have and/or do not havecontent mapped thereto.

The system may determine what slots for a given location have beenselected or are available, the slot cost, and/or the number of stationsat the location. The system may also generate and populate a userinterface showing, for a given location, a schedule of slots, slotavailability, slot cost, the number of station, and/or other data. Theschedule may be scrollable to show different slots.

Items of content may be scheduled to be shown sequentially on a givenstation. If no content has been mapped to a given slot and the slot hasbeen purchased by an entity, then other content of the entity that hasbeen mapped to different slots may be shown. Optionally, public serviceannouncement, in-house content, default content, or other content may beshown during a slot that does not otherwise have content mapped thereto.

Certain example user interfaces will now be discussed with reference toFIGS. 12A-12K. Certain user interfaces may be configured to be accessedvia user devices and used by an administrator (e.g., a sales agent), acontent provider (e.g., an advertiser), or a broker (who purchases slotsfor resale to content providers). FIG. 12A illustrates an exampleinventory management user interface showing slot purchases for a givenentity. For example, the inventory management user interface includes alabel column, a purchased date column, an ad space column, a total salecolumn, a total cost column, and an availability column. The labelcolumn may include a name assigned to the purchase by the entity. The adspace column may indicate the type or quality of the purchased space(e.g., standard, premium, default premium, etc.). The total sale columnmay indicate the total sale value of the purchased slots to whichcontent has been mapped by the entity. The total cost column mayindicate the total cost of the purchased slots (including slots to whichcontent has been mapped by the entity and slots that have not yet hadcontent mapped thereto). The availability column indicates thepercentage of slots to which content has not been allocated. Theavailability calculation takes into account the value of slots, wheredifferent slots may be associated with a different costs.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example “book time” user interface. The userinterface includes fields for selecting/designating location criteria,such as states, cities, and/or categories. In addition, the userinterface includes fields for selecting/designating types, sub-types,age ranges, ethnicity, gender, and income range. The category andsub-category fields may be used to assign tags to the content that theentity is provided to be displayed on stations. For example, if the userselects a category (e.g., women's shoes) and a corresponding menu ofsub-categories may be identified and process to the entity. The entitymay then select a sub-category (e.g., high-heeled shoes) from theidentified sub-categories. In addition, booking details fields areprovided, including checkboxes via which the user can specify whether aprecise time or frequency will be specified. Fields are provided viawhich a start date, end date, ad slot, frequency (the number of times agiven item of content is to be shown), ad space, and ad time may bespecified.

FIG. 12C illustrates a “finalize booking” user interface. A requestedtime success rate is calculated and presented. The success rate may bereported as a percentage of the time requests that are available and/orhave been successfully reserved, and/or in terms of absolute numbers(the number of time requests available out of how many time requestsmade). A user can indicate whether the user will only book locations atthe specified preferred times, or whether the user is willing to selectalternative times. A total due amount is reported (calculated based onthe number of requested slots available). A table is generated includinga location column (e.g., reporting a unique location identifier, such asa location name and address, a unique alphanumeric code, and/or thelike), a cost column, a number of devices/stations column (reporting thenumber of stations at the location), and a scrollable calendarindicating various time slots for a corresponding date (including acontrol enabling a user to scroll through different dates). A given timeslot cell may indicate whether the time slot is available for selection,not available for selection, or has already been selected by the user.

FIG. 12D illustrates a purchased time detail user interface. In thisexample, the purchase had previously been labeled “Prime Time”. Generaldata, sales data, and schedule data selection controls are provided. Alabel field is provided configured to receive a user label if the userwants to change the current label. Purchase date, first date, and lastdate fields are provided that report corresponding data. In addition,total time, total cost, total sale, and total time sold fields areprovided that report corresponding data. A booking details area includesstart date, end date, ad space, ad slot, ad time, success percentagefields that report corresponding data. A link is provided that whenactivated causes a scrollable calendar schedule to be rendered andpresented showing when and where the entity's designated content isscheduled to be shown.

FIG. 12E illustrates an example campaign sales interface that may beaccessed by an administrator. A table is rendered and displayed thatincludes a content provider (e.g., advertiser name) column, a campaigndate range, a time range, a total time, the number of days in thecampaign, and the sales amount.

An entity (e.g., a broker or content provider) may be enabled totransfer purchased time to another entity (e.g., a content provider orbroker). A “transfer time” control may be provided that when activatedcauses a time transfer interface to be rendered, an example of which isillustrated in FIG. 12F. The transferor may specify a start date, an enddate, a start time, an end time, or all time for the time to betransferred. The system may, based on the entity input, calculate thetotal days for which time is being transferred, the total time, and thepurchase value. The transferor may enter the sale value into acorresponding field. The transferor may enter the transferee's contactinformation (e.g., email address). A transfer control is provided thatwhen activated will cause the system to transfer the corresponding timeto the transferee. The transfer may be recorded in respective accountrecords of the transferor and transferee.

In response to a user (e.g., an administrator) activating a schedulecontrol, the example user interface illustrated in FIG. 12G may berendered. The schedule may include a location column that identifies(e.g., via name, address, unique alphanumeric code, etc.) locations atwhich stations are placed. The schedule may also include a devicescolumn that provides the number of stations present at a correspondinglocation, and scrollable time slot columns with the correspondingcontent scheduled for respective time slots and/or an indication as towhether a given time slot is still available for purchase or has beenalready purchased. The time slot columns may indicate the purchaser of agiven time slot. Controls may be provided via which a user can selectthe time interval and the date and the schedule will be renderedaccordingly.

FIG. 12H illustrates an example sale history user interface forcampaign/time purchases. The sale history user interface may be renderedas a table. The table may include a label column (e.g., a label assignedby a content provider that purchased the corresponding time). The userinterface may include a content provider name, the campaign date range,the length of the content, the designation (e.g., quality) of thecorresponding screen/page space purchased, the total time, the saleamount, and actions.

FIG. 12I illustrates an example time sold user interface that providescampaign details for different content providers. The name of thecontent provider (e.g., advertiser), sales value, purchase value, startdate, end date, number of days, and total time for the campaign may bedisplayed. The time sold data may be rendered as a scrollable tableincluding a location column and day columns. For each day column thereis a content (e.g., ad) hour column and a content (e.g., ad) timecolumn. A scroll control may be provided that enables the table to bescrolled to different dates and/or locations.

FIG. 12J illustrates an example transaction history user interface thatprovides financial information for time purchases. The information maybe rendered as a scrollable table with a transaction identifier column,a payment instrument type column (e.g., credit, debit, etc. used to makethe purchase), a transaction amount column, and a transaction datecolumn. An invoice download control may be provided that when activatedcauses a corresponding transaction invoice to be downloaded (e.g., as aPDF file) to a user terminal.

FIG. 12K illustrates an example notification user interface that listsnotifications and the timing of the notifications generated by thesystem to a user (e.g., a purchaser of time). The notifications mayreflect events detected or initiated by the system.

FIGS. 13A-13B illustrate example user interfaces that may be displayedon a charging station.

FIG. 13A illustrates an example user interface 1302A that may bedisplayed on a charging station display based on a user profile. Asdescribed elsewhere herein, the user profile may be identified using animage of the user captured using a station camera or otherwise asdescribed elsewhere herein. The user profile may be used, in part, toselect content to present to the user, as similarly described elsewhereherein. Content, such as a pre-recorded video or live video feed may bedisplayed in a first, largest pane 1304A. A control may be providedwhich enables the user to close the pane 1304A so that it is no longerdisplayed. A control may be provided (e.g., a “find out more” control)which when activated causes additional information/content related tothe content displayed in pane 1304A to be accessed from a local orremote source (e.g., a web server) and enable such additionalinformation/content to be rendered on the station display. One or morebattery charge indicators/meters 1306A may report the charge state ofthe station battery and/or of the user device connected to the station.

The user interface 1302A may include a like control and/or dislikecontrol via which the user can indicate whether the user likes ordislikes the content rendered in pane 1304A, where such indication maybe stored in the user' profile and used to select future content assimilarly discussed elsewhere herein. One or more other panes 1308A maydisplay corresponding content (e.g., video content, still image content,text content, links to audio content, other content types describedherein, and/or the like). The user can select one or more of the panes1308A, and the content may optionally be rendered in the pane 1304A,within the selected pane, or elsewhere, and any audio may be played backvia the station speaker (or wired or wireless headphones/ear buds of theuser connected to the station). The user content selections may bestored in the user's profile.

Optionally, the panes may include one or more social media feeds (e.g.,selected based on the user's profile). Optionally, the content of one ormore of the panes and/or one or more controls (e.g., links to content)may be selected based at least in part on the user's profile and/or onthe location of the station. Thus, different stations at a given venuemay automatically display different content, based on the location ofthe tablet and on the profile of the user (if a user profile isavailable). For example, if the station is located at an airport, thecontent of a given pane may be current flight arrival and/or departuretimes for a time period (e.g., the next 4 hours) for the airport. By wayof additional example, if the station is located at a sports venue, thecontent of a given pane may be score information or player informationfor a game being played at the venue. By way of further example, if thestation is located at a mall, and the user's profile indicates aninterest in jewelry, the content of a given pane may identify jewelrystores within the mall. By way of yet further example, if the station islocated at a clothing store, one or more buttons (e.g., a set ofbuttons) maybe dynamically selected/generated and presented, whereactivation of a button causes a corresponding clothing trend socialmedia feed to be accessed and presented via the station. Thus, a dynamicset of controls may be generated and presented to the user based atleast in part on the station location and/or on the user's profile.

A search field may be provided via which the user may enter a searchquery (e.g., using a station keyboard or via voice input) comprising oneor more search terms. For example, the search field may enable the userto enter search terms to search for content and/or information. A localand/or remote search engine may receive the query, search forcorresponding content/information, and cause search results to bedisplayed on the tablet, optionally in a ranked order (e.g., ranked interms of relevance and/or in terms of paid placement). The searchresults may include respective links to sites hosting the correspondingcontent/information.

FIG. 13B illustrates a user interface 1302B displaying a live video feed(e.g., of a concert, sporting event, interview, etc.) in a pane 1304B. Aplay/pause control is provided which when activated enables the user topause or restart the live video feed. If the user pauses the live videofeed and then activates the play control, the displayed feed will betime delayed to an amount corresponding to the time gap between theactivation of the pause and play controls.

A “watch later” control, when activated, enables the user to lateraccess a recorded version of the live video feed (e.g., causes the videoto be stored in a watch list of the user). The user interface 1302Bprovides one or more interfaces enabling the user to interact with aperson presented in the live video feed. For example, a text field maybe provided via which the user may enter a question or comment which maybe provided in real time to a person in the live video (or someoneworking with the person in the live video). The person in the live videomay respond on the live feed to the user question or comment or theresponse may be provided via text and/or audio video directly to theuser by the person in the live video or by another person associatedwith the person in the live video. Optionally, an audio/video inputcontrol may be provided which enables the user to provide the questionor comment via a tablet microphone and/or camera.

One or more other panes 1308B may display corresponding content (e.g.,live video content, prerecorded video content, still image content, textcontent, links to audio content, other content types described herein,and/or the like) which are optionally related to the live video renderedin 1304B. For example, if the pane 1304B is displaying a concert-relatedvideo, one of the panes 130B may provide access to backstage video ofthe concert, and another pane may provide a video of the concert itselfor of a past concert. Different content may be displayed based on thelocation of the station within a venue. For example, if the station isdetermined to be located in a venue seating area that has a partly orwholly blocked view of an event at the venue, one or more panes may showcamera views of the event (e.g., concert) that a station user would notbe able to see. By contrast, if the station is determined to be locatedin a venue seating area that has an unobstructed view of an event at thevenue, one or more panes may show a close-up of what the user can viewwith the user's unaided eye.

The user can select one or more of the panes 1308B and the content mayoptionally be rendered in the pane 1304B, in the selected pane, orelsewhere, and any audio may be played back via the station speaker (orwired or wireless headphones/ear buds of the user connected to thestation). The user content selections may be stored in the user'sprofile as similarly discussed elsewhere.

Optionally, certain content, such as certain live video streams of alive event, may only be made available to stations located at the venuewhere the live event is taking place. Optionally, certain panes maypresent content only be made available to stations located at the venuewhere the live event is taking place, while other panes may presentcontent that is also available at other locations. Controls or panes mayprovide links to enable a user to order food or merchandise at the venuewhere the station is located.

As similarly discussed elsewhere herein, one or more battery chargeindicators/meters 1306B may report the charge state of the stationbattery and/or of the user device connected to the station. A searchfield may be provided via which the user may enter a search querycomprising search terms. A local and/or remote search engine may receivethe query, search for corresponding content/information, and causesearch results to be displayed on the station display, optionally in aranked order (e.g., ranked in terms of relevance and/or in terms of paidplacement). The search results may include respective links to siteshosting the corresponding content/information.

Optionally, an interface may be provided that enables a user to capturean image of the user's face, and modify the image of the face. Forexample, controls and menus may be provided which enables the user toage the face to a desired age, to add or change hair, glasses, hats,beards, clothing and/or like. Controls and menus may be provided thatenable a user to add a digital sticker or frame to the image. Controlsand menus may be provided that enable the user to share the modifiedimage via a social media site, a messaging service, email, and/orotherwise.

Thus, as would be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the use of thedisclosed navigation techniques and user interfaces represent asignificant technological advance over prior conventionalimplementations. For example, the use of the disclosed user interfaceenables a user to locate and access content with fewer clicks, scrolls,and/or page navigations that would otherwise be required to locateappropriate content.

The methods and processes described herein may have fewer or additionalsteps or states and the steps or states may be performed in a differentorder. Not all steps or states need to be reached. The methods andprocesses described herein may be embodied in, and fully or partiallyautomated via, software code modules executed by one or more generalpurpose computers, gaming consoles, smart televisions, etc. The codemodules may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or othercomputer storage device. Some or all of the methods may alternatively beembodied in whole or in part in specialized computer hardware. Thesystems described herein may optionally include displays, user inputdevices (e.g., touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, voice recognition, etc.),network interfaces, etc.

The results of the disclosed methods may be stored in any type ofcomputer data repository, such as relational databases and flat filesystems that use volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., magneticdisk storage, optical storage, EEPROM and/or solid state RAM).

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, routines, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. The described functionality can beimplemented in varying ways for each particular application, but suchimplementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the disclosure.

Moreover, the various illustrative logical blocks and modules describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implementedor performed by a machine, such as a processor device, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A processor device can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, theprocessor device can be a controller, microcontroller, or state machine,combinations of the same, or the like. A processor device can includeelectrical circuitry configured to process computer-executableinstructions. In another embodiment, a processor device includes an FPGAor other programmable device that performs logic operations withoutprocessing computer-executable instructions. A processor device can alsobe implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration. Although described hereinprimarily with respect to digital technology, a processor device mayalso include primarily analog components. For example, some or all ofthe rendering techniques described herein may be implemented in analogcircuitry or mixed analog and digital circuitry. A computing environmentcan include any type of computer system, including, but not limited to,a computer system based on a microprocessor, a mainframe computer, adigital signal processor, a portable computing device, a devicecontroller, or a computational engine within an appliance, to name afew.

The elements of a method, process, routine, or algorithm described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processordevice, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside inRAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory,registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium. An exemplary storagemedium can be coupled to the processor device such that the processordevice can read information from, and write information to, the storagemedium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integer to theprocessor device. The processor device and the storage medium can residein an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative,the processor device and the storage medium can reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “may,”“might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without other input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are usedinclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additionalelements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or”is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so thatwhen used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or”means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may beeither X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and shouldnot, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at leastone of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

While the phrase “click” may be used with respect to a user selecting acontrol, menu selection, or the like, other user inputs may be used,such as voice commands, text entry, gestures, etc. For example, a clickmay be in the form of a user touch (via finger or stylus) on a touchscreen, or in the form of a user moving a cursor (using a mouse ofkeyboard navigation keys) to a displayed object and activating aphysical control (e.g., a mouse button or keyboard key). User inputsmay, by way of example, be provided via an interface or in response to aprompt (e.g., a voice or text prompt). By way of example an interfacemay include text fields, wherein a user provides input by entering textinto the field. By way of further example, a user input may be receivedvia a menu selection (e.g., a drop down menu, a list or otherarrangement via which the user can check via a check box or otherwisemake a selection or selections, a group of individually selectableicons, a menu selection made via an interactive voice response system,etc.). When the user provides an input or activates a control, acorresponding computing system may perform a corresponding operation(e.g., store the user input, process the user input, provide a responseto the user input, etc.). Some or all of the data, inputs andinstructions provided by a user may optionally be stored in a systemdata store (e.g., a database), from which the system may access andretrieve such data, inputs, and instructions. The notifications and userinterfaces described herein may be provided via a Web page, a dedicatedor non-dedicated phone application, computer application, a shortmessaging service message (e.g., SMS, MMS, etc.), instant messaging,email, push notification, audibly, and/or otherwise.

The user terminals described herein may be in the form of a mobilecommunication device (e.g., a cell phone, a VoIP equipped mobile device,etc.), laptop, tablet computer, interactive television, game console,media streaming device, head-wearable display, virtual realitydisplay/headset, augmented reality display/headset, networked watch,etc. The user terminals may optionally include displays, user inputdevices (e.g., touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, voice recognition, etc.),network interfaces, etc.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features as applied to various embodiments, it can beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in theform and details of the devices or algorithms illustrated can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the disclosure. As can berecognized, certain embodiments described herein can be embodied withina form that does not provide all of the features and benefits set forthherein, as some features can be used or practiced separately fromothers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tablet computer, comprising: a housing; adisplay; a processing system; a camera system comprising a camerasensor; a battery system, the battery system positioned within thehousing, configured to power the display, the processing system, thecamera system, and configured to charge an external device; one or moreintegral cables including at least one integral cable comprising: afirst end fixedly coupled to the tablet computer and electricallycoupled to the battery system; a first connector of a first typeconfigured to mate with a first type of external device connector; asecond connector of a second type configured to mate with a second typeof external device connector; a cable retainer configured to retain atleast one of the one or more integral cables against or within thehousing, the cable retainer comprising: a ferrous material positionedabout at least one of the integral cables; one or more magnetspositioned on or in the housing; a receiving area positioned on anexterior wall of the backside of the housing, the receiving areaconfigured to removably receive and retain the external device; a lippositioned configured to support an external device on at least a firstside of the receiving area; and a flexible material configured tosecurely retain the external device within the receiving area; and alens configured to form images on the camera sensor.
 2. The tabletcomputer as defined in claim 1, wherein the tablet computer isconfigured to: detect when a charge level of the battery system falls toa first level; and in response to detecting the charge level of thebattery system has fallen to the first level, disable charging of theexternal device, while stilling enabling transmission of tablet computerlocation data to a remote system.
 3. The tablet computer as defined inclaim 1, further comprising: a wireless charging coil positioned insidethe housing, towards backside of the housing; wherein the receiving areais configured to position the external device to be wirelessly chargedvia the wireless charging coil.
 4. The tablet computer as defined inclaim 1, wherein the second connector is configured as an adapterconfigured to fit over the first connector.
 5. The tablet computer asdefined in claim 1, wherein the first connector is configured to matewith two different types of external device connectors.
 6. The tabletcomputer as defined in claim 1, wherein the flexible material comprisesa ratcheted strap configured to be incrementally tightened about theexternal device.
 7. The tablet computer as defined in claim 1, whereinthe ferrous material positioned about at least one of the integralcables comprises a spring disposed about at least one integral cable. 8.The tablet computer as defined in claim 1, the tablet computer furthercomprising: a wireless network interface; an infrared eye trackingcamera module comprising an infrared camera and an infrared lightemitter, the infrared eye tracking camera module positioned in a bezelarea of the tablet computer, the infrared light emitter configured toemit infrared light towards an eye of a user, and the infrared cameraconfigured to detect reflections of the infrared light from the usereye; and an infrared motion sensor, the infrared motion sensorpositioned in the bezel area of the tablet computer.
 9. The tabletcomputer as defined in claim 1, the processing system further comprisingcomputer-readable memory that stores instructions that when executed bythe processing system cause the tablet computer to perform operationscomprising: detect when an external device is connected to a firstcable; and transmit a message to a remote destination indicating thatthe external device is being charged.
 10. The tablet computer as definedin claim 1, further comprising a network interface and computer-readablememory that stores instructions that when executed by the processingsystem cause the tablet computer to perform operations comprising:automatically capture images of a user using the camera system;automatically transmit the captured images of the user to a remotesystem using the wireless network interface; and after the capturedimages of the user are transmitted to the remote system using thewireless network interface, automatically purge the captured images fromthe tablet computer.
 11. A tablet computer, comprising: a housing; adisplay; a processing system; a camera system comprising a camerasensor; a battery system, the battery system positioned within thehousing, configured to power the display, the processing system, thecamera system, and configured to charge an external device; a cableretainer configured to retain one or more integral cables against orwithin the housing; one or more integral cables including at least oneintegral connector comprising: a first end fixedly coupled to the tabletcomputer and electrically coupled to the battery system; a firstconnector of a first type configured to mate with a first type ofexternal device connector; a second connector of a second typeconfigured to mate with a second type of external device connector; anda lens configured to form images on the camera sensor.
 12. The tabletcomputer as defined in claim 11, wherein the tablet computer isconfigured to: detect when a charge level of the battery system falls toa first level; and in response to detecting the charge level of thebattery system has fallen to the first level, disable charging of theexternal device, while stilling enabling transmission of tablet computerlocation data to a remote system.
 13. The tablet computer as defined inclaim 11, further comprising: a wireless charging coil positioned insidethe housing, towards a backside of the housing; and a receiving areapositioned on an exterior wall of a backside of the housing, thereceiving area configured to removably receive and retain the externaldevice, and to position the external device to be wirelessly charged viathe wireless charging coil.
 14. The tablet computer as defined in claim11, wherein the second connector is configured as an adapter configuredto fit over the first connector.
 15. The tablet computer as defined inclaim 11, wherein the first connector is configured to mate with twodifferent types of external device connectors.
 16. The tablet computeras defined in claim 11, further comprising: a receiving area positionedon an exterior wall of a backside of the housing, the receiving areaconfigured to removably receive and retain the external device; a lippositioned configured to support an external device on at least a firstside of the receiving area; and a ratcheted strap configured to beincrementally tightened about the external device to thereby securelyretain the external device in the receiving area.
 17. The tabletcomputer as defined in claim 11, further comprising: a receiving areapositioned on an exterior wall of a backside of the housing, thereceiving area configured to removably receive and retain the externaldevice.
 18. The tablet computer as defined in claim 11, wherein thecable retainer comprises a first housing channel configured to removablyreceive at least one cable.
 19. The tablet computer as defined in claim11, wherein the cable retainer comprises one or more magnets positionedon or within the housing, and a first cable in the one or more integralcables comprises ferrous material.
 20. The tablet computer as defined inclaim 11, wherein the cable retainer comprises a spring comprised offerrous material disposed about at least one integral cable and a magnetpositioned on or within the housing configured to removably retain theat least one integral cable to the housing.
 21. The tablet computer asdefined in claim 11, the tablet computer further comprising: a wirelessnetwork interface; an infrared eye tracking camera module comprising aninfrared camera and an infrared light emitter, the infrared eye trackingcamera module positioned in a bezel area of the tablet computer, theinfrared light emitter configured to emit infrared light towards an eyeof a user, and the infrared camera configured to detect reflections ofthe infrared light from the user eye; and an infrared motion sensor, theinfrared motion sensor positioned in the bezel area of the tabletcomputer.
 22. The tablet computer as defined in claim 11, the processingsystem further comprising computer-readable memory that storesinstructions that when executed by the processing system cause thetablet computer to perform operations comprising: detect, using imagescaptured via the camera system, whether a user is utilizing the tablet;and in response to detecting that a user is not utilizing the tablet,reduce display brightness.
 23. The tablet computer as defined in claim11, the processing system further comprising computer-readable memorythat stores instructions that when executed by the processing systemcause the tablet computer to perform operations comprising: detect,using images captured via the camera system, whether a user is utilizingthe tablet; and in response to detecting that a user is utilizing thetablet, automatically transmit images of the user to a remote system.24. The tablet computer as defined in claim 11, the processing systemfurther comprising computer-readable memory that stores instructionsthat when executed by the processing system cause the tablet computer toperform operations comprising: detect when a device is connected to afirst cable; and transmit a message to a remote destination indicatingthat the device is being charged.
 25. The tablet computer as defined inclaim 11, the processing system further comprising computer-readablememory that stores instructions that when executed by the processingsystem cause the tablet computer to perform operations comprising:automatically capture images of a user using the camera system;automatically transmit one or more captured images to a remote system;and automatically delete the captured images of the user from the tabletcomputer.
 26. The tablet computer as defined in claim 11, the processingsystem further comprising computer-readable memory that storesinstructions that when executed by the processing system cause thetablet computer to perform operations comprising: automaticallydetermine, using a content schedule stored in the computer-readablememory, what content item, in a plurality of content items stored in thecomputer-readable memory, is to be displayed by the display during afirst time period; automatically cause the determined content item to bedisplayed by the display during at least a portion of the first timeperiod; automatically capture images of a user while the determinedcontent item is displayed; and automatically transmit the capturedimages of the user to a remote system.
 27. The tablet computer asdefined in claim 11, further comprising a wireless network interface andcomputer-readable memory that stores instructions that when executed bythe processing system cause the tablet computer to perform operationscomprising: automatically capture images of the user using the camerasystem; automatically transmit the captured images of the user to aremote system using the wireless network interface; and after thecaptured images of the user are transmitted to the remote system usingthe wireless network interface, automatically purge the captured imagesfrom the tablet computer.
 28. The tablet computer as defined in claim11, the processing system further comprising computer-readable memorythat stores instructions that when executed by the processing systemcause the tablet computer to perform operations comprising: detect whena charge level of the battery system falls to a first level; and inresponse to detecting the charge level of the battery system has fallento the first level, disable charging of the external device; accesslocation data using a location determination device while charging ofthe external device is disabled; and transmit the location data to aremote system while charging of the external device is disabled.
 29. Thetablet computer as defined in claim 11, further comprising a motorizedstand, the motorized stand comprising: a stepper motor; and a basemember; wherein the stepper motor is controllable by the processingsystem, wherein the tablet computer is configured to rotate the tabletcomputer housing relative to the motorized stand base member enablingthe lens to be positioned at a desired height.
 30. The tablet computeras defined in claim 11, further comprising a motorized stand, themotorized stand in wireless communication with the processing system,wherein the processing system is configured to command the motorizedstand to raise or lower the tablet computer housing to a commandedposition.